MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Blue Raiders fell to No. 40 Louisville 4-3 on Sunday afternoon.
Louisville began the match by taking the doubles point. Junior
Marlene Chemin and sophomore
Stephanie Parkison fell to Natalia Baez and Bianca Gorbea 8-6 in No. 1 doubles. Then the Cardinals' Lindsey Jones and Jo-Ann Van Aerde clinched the point with their 8-5 win over seniors
Claudia Szabo and
Ann-Kristin Siljestrom.
In No. 3 singles, freshman
Shannon Hartmann and junior
Pooja Kommireddi defeated Lauren Imre and Robyn White 8-6 to round out doubles play.
"This was by far the best tennis we have played all year. Our goal this whole season has been to play our best tennis come conference tournament time and that is what we are doing. All the hard work all year we have put in all year is paying off," head coach Alison Ojeda said.
In singles play, Chemin fell to White 6-4, 6-2 and Gorbea defeated Szabo 6-4, 6-4 to take a 3-0 lead in the match.
Then Middle Tennessee staged a comeback as Siljestrom defeated Imre 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4. The Cardinals sealed the win as Jones defeated Parkison in three sets 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in No. 2 singles.
Hartmann and Kommireddi each won their matches by retirement to end the match.
Middle Tennessee will be back in action on Friday, April 4 when it plays host to conference rival Western Kentucky at 2 p.m. at the
Buck Bouldin Tennis Center on the campus of Middle Tennessee. Admission to all home matches is free.
Singles
1. A.K. Siljestrom (MT) def. Lauren Imre (LOU) 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 6-4
2. Lindsey Jones (LOU) def. Stephanie Parkison (MT) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. Bianca Gorbea (LOU) def. Claudia Szabo (MT) 6-4, 6-4
4. Robyn White (LOU) def. Marlene Chemin (MT) 6-4, 6-2
5. Shannon Hartmann (MT) def. Natalia Baez (LOU) 2-6, retired
6. Pooja Kommireddi (MT) def. Jo-Ann Van Aerde (LOU) 3-2, retired
Doubles:
1. Natalia Baez/Bianca Gorbea (LOU) def. Marlene Chemin/Stephanie Parkison (MT) 8-1
2. Lindsey Jones/Jo-Ann Van Aerde (LOU) def. A.K. Siljestrom/Claudia Szabo (MT) 8-5
3. Shannon Hartmann/Pooja Kommireddi (MT) def. Lauren Imre/Robyn White (LOU) 8-6
Match Notes:
Louisville 13-5; National ranking #40
Middle Tennessee 6-13
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,3,2,1,5,6)
