Women's Tennis preview: No. 11 Tennessee
Jan. 28, 2010
WHAT: No. 30 Texas (1-0) takes part in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend event and will take on No. 11 Tennessee (2-0) in the opening round. Should Texas defeat Tennessee and win on Saturday against either Vanderbilt or TCU, Texas would advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships to be held in February at The University of Wisconsin. WHEN: Tennessee on Friday, Jan. 29, 1 p.m. Central; if Texas defeats Tennessee, the Horns would meet the Vanderbilt/TCU winner on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 1 p.m. Central; if Texas falls to Tennessee, the Horns would take on the losing team in Friday’s Vanderbilt/TCU match on Saturday at 8 a.m. Central. WHERE: Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center – Knoxville, Tenn. LIVE SCORING: http://www.utladyvols.com/livestats/w-tennis/xlive.htm LAST MEETING VS. TENNESSEE: Tennessee defeated Texas by a 5-2 count on March 15, 2006 in Knoxville, Tenn. LAST TIME OUT: Texas opened the season on Saturday, Jan. 23 with a 6-1 victory over Rice at UT’s Penick-Allison Tennis Center. ITA RANKINGS UPDATE: Freshman Aeriel Ellis leads the Longhorns’ contingent in the ITA preseason singles rankings, where she made her rankings debut at No. 22 after totaling a 17-5 fall singles record. She claimed the main singles draw last October at the ITA Texas Regional Championships and earned a berth in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. Sophomore Krista Damico ranks a career-best No. 27 in the ITA preseason singles rankings, and senior Vanja Corovic comes in at No. 59. Damico and UT junior Amanda Craddock are ranked No. 27 in the ITA preseason doubles rankings.
Tennessee’s Caitlin Whoriskey ranks sixth in the ITA preseason singles rankings, and Maria Sorbello comes in at No. 51. Whoriskey and the Lady Vols’ Natalie Pluskota comprise the nation’s top-ranked doubles tandem. The Tennessee duo won the main draw doubles title at the 2009 ITA All-American Championships, one of three national championship events on the college tennis calendar. THE 2009-10 LONGHORNS: Under fifth-year head coach Patty Fendick-McCain, the Longhorns return all six singles starters and five of six doubles starters from the 2009 squad that reached the finals at the Big 12 Championships and the round of 32 at the NCAA Championships. Corovic returns after earning All-Big 12 singles honors in each of her three seasons in Austin. Senior Sarah Lancaster posted a 19-3 dual-match record last season and went unbeaten in conference play. |
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