TENNESSEE 2012 LADY VOL TENNIS 2012 SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS - FIRST ROUND
#8 TENNESSEE [13-11, 4-7 SEC] VS. #9 AUBURN [8-12, 3-8 SEC] APRIL 6, 2012 /// PALMER/SALLOUM TENNIS CENTER /// OXFORD, MISS.
PROJECTED LINEUPS TENNESSEE
AUBURN
Head Coaches: Mike Patrick & Sonia Hahn-Patrick
Head Coach: Lauren Longbotham Meisner
DOUBLES Name (Rank) 1. Pluskota/Szekely (10)
2012 Total (Dual) 14-1 (7-0)
Name (Rank) 1. Flickinger/Kasler
2012 Total (Dual) 7-6 (7-6)
Pluskota & Szekely have won all seven dual matches and are 4-1 against ranked opponents...Defeated AU duo, 8-2, on April 6.
1-0 (1-0)
2. Pfeifler/Schippers (75)
3-3 (3-2)
3. Henderson/Grace
1-1 (1-1)
3. Bennett/Kurteva
1-0 (1-0)
Name (Rank) 1. Natalie Pluskota (35)
2012 Total (Dual) 12-10 (4-5)
Name (Rank) 1. Jen Pfeifler
2012 Total (Dual) 14-17 (8-11)
2. Brynn Boren (27)
23-11 (15-6)
2. Emily Flickinger
12-18 (5-13)
3. Kata Szekely (52)
22-8 (15-6)
3. Plamena Kurteva
15-17 (8-11)
4. Caitlyn Williams
9-6 (9-6)
4. Jackie Kasler
19-12 (12-8)
21 22 27 28
5. Joanna Henderson
11-13 (9-11)
5. Paulina Schippers
6-12 (3-10)
FEBRUARY
6. Jesse Grace
3-11 (3-11)
6. Olivia Bennett
11-3 (10-3)
BRYNN BOREN
2. Boren/Williams
Boren and Williams made debut together vs. Kentucky with 8-6 win to clinch doubles point after trailing 6-4. Tandem clinched Tennessee’s doubles point vs. Arkansas with 8-6 win...Suffered 8-5 loss vs. Kentucky.
SINGLES Win over Kentucky was first singles action since March 11...Has won three of last four matches, including 6-1, 6-3 win over Pfeifler. Career-high seven-match winning streak snapped vs. Alabama...Has won 10 of 12 overall...Beat Flickinger 7-5, 6-2 in first meeting. Has won 3 straight and 4 of 5...Has already set career-high with 22 singles wins...8-2 from No. 3 spot...Def. Kurteva 6-1, 6-3 on 4/6. Opened April with 6-1, 6-1 win vs. UK after missing two matches...Is 2-2 in SEC play...Missed first meeting vs. Auburn.
Hasn’t played since being forced to retire with injury in first set against Auburn...Two-time SEC Freshman of the Week. Has played at spots 4-6...Grace lost to Schippers 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (8) in first meeting with Auburn.
THE STORYLINES SEC TOURNAMENT
• The winner of Tennessee and Auburn moves on to play top-seeded Florida on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. • Tennessee has advanced to three consecutive SEC Tournament title matches, and has won at least two matches at the tournament in five of the last six years. • UT hasn’t lost its initial contest in the conference tournament since 2005. • Tennessee is 27-28 all-time in the SEC Tournament, including a 3-1 mark vs. Auburn.
ITA RANKINGS
• Tennessee is now rated 20th in the nation in the latest Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings, released Tuesday (April 17). The Lady Vols have been ranked as high as fifth this season (Feb. 28). • For a more detailed look at where UT stacks up in the latest rankings, check out the top right corner of Page 2.
y SCORING SYSTEM
SCOUTING AUBURN
• Ranked 69th, Auburn is Tennessee’s 21st ranked opponent in 25 matches. • Auburn has lost six consecutive matches and eight of nine overall. • Tennessee is 30-6 all-time against Auburn and has won the last 21 meetings, marking the Lady Vols’ longest active winning streak against any opponent. UT is 4-1 against Auburn in Knoxville. • UT received wins from Natalie Pluskota, Brynn Boren and Kata Szekely in the April 6 win over Auburn, also winning the doubles point.
INJURY BUG
• UT has played a full singles lineup just once since March 11, due to various injuries and illnesses. When playing at full strength, the Lady Vols are 12-3, including six Top 25 wins.
New to the college game? All that matters is which team gets to four points first. In dual matches, teams first play a best-of-three doubles competition. Whichever team wins two of the three matches earns one point. Teams then play six singles matches, each worth one point. The team that takes four of the seven total available points wins the match. (Note: Doubles matches are eight-game pro sets. Singles matches are best-of-three sets.)
SCHEDULE /// 2012 SEASON JANUARY
3 5 10 11 12 17 19 25
MARCH 2 4 9 11 21 23 25 30
APRIL 1 6 8 14 19
vs. #9 Virginia1 vs. #4 North Carolina1 #58 UC Davis^ #22 Tulsa^
L, 4-3 L, 5-2 W, 5-0 W, 4-0
#24 Notre Dame #10 Michigan vs. #5 Baylor+2 vs. #16 USC+2 vs. #12 Northwestern+2 at Indiana at #64 Ohio State at UCF
W, 6-1 W, 5-2 W, 4-0 L, 4-1 W, 4-3 W, 5-2 W, 4-3 W, 7-0
#15 Florida* #22 South Carolina* at #25 Ole Miss* at Mississippi State* at #67 UNLV at #49 LSU* #37 Arkansas* at #25 Vanderbilt*
L, 7-0 W, 4-3 L, 5-2 W, 7-0 L, 4-3 L, 5-2 L, 4-3 L, 6-1
at Kentucky* #63 Auburn* #11 Alabama* at #8 Georgia* - by forfeit #69 Auburn3
W, 6-1 W, 4-3 L, 6-1 L, 7-0 7 p.m.
MAY
11-12 NCAA First & Second Rounds 17-28 NCAA Championships: Final Site4 23-28 NCAA Championships: Singles/Doubles4 ^ ITA Kick-Off; *SEC match, + ITA National Indoors 1 Flushing, N.Y.; 2Charlottesville, Va.; 3Oxford, Miss.; 4 Athens, Ga.
FACTS BOX /// BY THE NUMBERS
0
Dual-match losses for Natalie Pluskota and Kata Szekely together in doubles. The duo is 7-0 in dual-match play and 14-1 overall.
3
Consecutive years Tennessee has advanced to the title match in the SEC Tournament.
21
Consecutive wins for Tennessee against Auburn, the Lady Vols’ longest active winning streak against any opponent.
MORE NOTES: SEC FRESHMEN OF THE WEEK
• Three Lady Vols have been honored with SEC Freshman of the Week (Joanna Henderson, Sarah Toti and Caitlyn Williams), tying the conference record. • Toti was recognized as the SEC Freshman of the Week in each the first three weeks of the season. • Williams and Henderson won in back-to-back efforts (March 7, 14), while Henderson also won the award March 28. • Toti is the first women’s tennis student-athlete to earn any kind of player of the week distinction three weeks in a row. She matched doubles partner Brynn Boren’s UT record of three overall freshman of the week awards, which Boren accomplished in 2011.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE, DOUBLE THE FUN
• Tennessee has been stellar in doubles action thus far, winning 46 of its 62 (.742) overall matches. The Lady Vols won the doubles point in their first 12 contests, marking a program record to open the season, and have won it 19 out of 23 times. Natalie Pluskota and Kata Szekely began playing together since March 21 and are undefeated in dual-match play at 7-0. Brynn Boren and Sarah Toti have a team-high 25 total wins together. • Pluskota and Williams have knocked off two top five doubles squads this season. Pluskota and Williams have defeated No. 3 Christian/Santamaria (USC) and No. 5 Frilling/Mathews (Notre Dame).
CLUB 50
BATTLE TESTED
• Out of Tennessee’s 24 opponents this season, 20 have been ranked in the ITA poll at the time of the match. Additionally, UT has played six teams in the Top 12 and 13 schools in the Top 25. • Stacking up the Lady Vols against top-flight competition, UT has gone 9-11 against ranked opponents, 3-4 against Top 12 foes and 6-8 against Top 25 schools. • Four of UT’s losses are to teams currently ranked in the top eight (Florida-3, USC-4, Georgia-7, & UNC-8).
• Brynn Boren, Natalie Pluskota and Kata Szekely all registered their 50th career singles wins this season. Now, 43 Lady Vols all-time have reached the milestone.
• Freshman Sarah Toti had successful surgery on Friday, April 6 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee. Toti suffered the injury during doubles play of UT’s home match against Arkansas on March 25.
STATS
APRIL 6 RECAP
For access to more info and links.
A link to the most updated Lady Vol stats.
Results from the teams’ first meeting.
TENNESSEE ROSTER & RECORDS Name (Singles/Doubles Rank) Brynn Boren (28/30) Jesse Grace Joanna Henderson Natalie Pluskota (35/10 & 14) Kata Szekely (52/10) Sarah Toti (--/30) Caitlyn Williams (--/14)
Year So. Fr. Fr. Sr. Jr. Fr. Fr.
Ht. 5-9 5-6 5-11 5-10 5-6 5-10 5-8
Hometown Laguna Niguel, Calif. Germiston, South Africa Aberdeen, Scotland Newnan, Ga. Szekesfehervar, Hungary Las Vegas, Nev. Knoxville, Tenn.
Co-Head Coaches: Mike Patrick and Sonia Hahn-Patrick (15th season) Volunteer Assistant Coach: Mario Toledo
AUBURN ROSTER Name (Singles/Doubles Rank) Olivia Bennett Taylor Cohen Emily Flickinger Jackie Kasler (--/86) Plamena Kurteva Lauren Levant Jen Pfeifler (--/75 & 86) Paulina Schippers (--/75) Taylor Schreimann
Year So. So. Fr. So. Jr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Sr.
Hometown St. Augustine, Trinidad Duluth, Ga. Arlington, Va. Gulf Breeze, Fla. Plovdiv, Bulgaris Birmingham, Ala. Gulf Breeze, Fla. Guatemala City, Guatemala Dallas, Texas
Head Coach Lauren Longbatham Meisner | Assistant Coach Luc Godin Graduate Assistant Coach Fani Chifchieva
Singles 23-11/15-6 3-11/3-11 11-13/9-11 12-10/4-5 22-8/15-6 15-11/9-8 9-6/9-6
TEAM
Team Tennessee
SINGLES
Name Brynn Boren Natalie Pluskota Kata Szekely
DOUBLES
Names Pluskota/Szekely Pluskota/Williams Boren/Toti
Now Prev. (4/10) 20 21 Now Prev. (4/10) 28 27 35 31 52 53 Now Prev. (4/10) 10 8 14 13 30 25
TRACKING TRENDS
SUCCESSFUL SURGERY
SCAN THESE NOW! MATCH CENTRAL
CURRENT ITA RANKINGS
Doubles 27-8/16-5 4-7/4-7 17-7/14-3 24-8/15-4 27-4/18-2 26-7/15-4 11-8/10-7
Brynn Boren reeled off a team and career-best seven straight singles wins, while Kata Szekely has won a team and season-high 10 consecutive in doubles. Here’s a look at Lady Vol winning streaks: Singles Brynn Boren Jesse Grace Joanna Henderson Natalie Pluskota Kata Szekely Sarah Toti Caitlyn Williams
Now Season Career -- 7 7 -- 2 2 -- 5 5 -- 4 5 3 5 6 1 4 4 1 4 4
Doubles Brynn Boren Jesse Grace Joanna Henderson Natalie Pluskota Kata Szekely Sarah Toti Caitlyn Williams
Now Season Career -- 15 15 -- 2 2 -- 6 6 8 8 16 10 10 18 -- 15 15 2 4 4
REACHING 100... Against Vanderbilt, Natalie Pluskota can become the eighth Lady Vol in UT history to record 100 doubles wins. Name Years Doubles Wins 1. Paula Kelly 1978-82 156 Peta Kelly 1978-82 156 3. Crystal Cleveland 1999-2003 119 4. Caitlin Whoriskey 2006-10 113 5. Rosalia Alda 2007-11 110 6. Zsofia Zubor 2006-10 106 7. Alison Ojeda 1998-2002 105 8. Natalie Pluskota 2008-Pres. 103
y ONLINE SERVICES
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