Women's Tennis Edges Cincinnati, 4-3 in American Athletic Conference Championship Opening Round

Wednesday, April 15

Tulsa, Okla. (University of Tulsa)

1 p.m.

Temple University

Cincinnati

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Women's Tennis Edges Cincinnati, 4-3 in American Athletic Conference Championship Opening Round

4.15.15 | Women's Tennis

Box Score

Tulsa, Okla. – After a slow start, the seventh-seeded women's tennis team rallied back to take down No. 10 Cincinnati, 4-3 in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Championship. Adding the victory to their overall total, the 2014-15 Owls now hold the record for the most wins in a season with 19.

"It was a great win for the girls today in a highly competitve conference," said head coach Steve Mauro. "I was really happy with the way the girls came back and fought especially after being down, but they perservered and I'm really proud of how the girls fought their way back to get a victory against a tough Cincinnati team."

The Bearcats were first on the board after sweeping the doubles point, as Lauren Bellinger and Kelly Poggensee-Wei defeating Alina Abdurakhimova and Dina Karina, 6-1 at the first flight and Katya Bure and Ali Miller defeated Mariana Bedon and Minami Okajima, 6-3 at the second flight.

Singles play also started off slow for the Owls, as Bellinger defeated Okajima, 6-2, 6-0 at the fourth flight and Miller took down Karina, 6-0, 6-4 at the third flight to give the Bearcats the 3-0 lead. However, the Owls began to get hot at the right time, winning four straight sets. Anais Nussame put Temple on the board after she defeated Abdalla, 6-2, 6-3 at the sixth flight. Stuckey-Willis followed behind her, taking down Bure at the second flight, 7-6(8), 6-1.

With the score 3-2 in Cincinnati's favor, Abdurakhimova tied things up after she defeated Poggensee-Wei, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 at the first flight. The winning point was down to the fifth flight, where Yana Khon battled hard with Hannah Wille, with Khon prevailing in the end, 7-6, 7-5.

"The freshman stepped up and Nussaume played extremely well at the sixth flight. We're hoping to keep the momentum going against Tulane," said Mauro.

The Owls move to 19-6 on the season and will face second-seed Tulane in round two of the championship at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT.

Temple 4, Cincinnati 3
Doubles:
1) Bellinger/Poggensee-Wei (UC) def. Abdurakhimova/Karina (TU), 6-1
2) Bure/Miller (UC) def. Okajima/Bedon (TU), 6-3
3) Stuckey-Willis/Breland (TU) vs. Abdalla/Wille, DNF

Singles:
1) Abdurakhimova (TU) def. Poggensee-Wei (UC), 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
2) Stuckey-Willis (TU) def. Bure (UC), 7-6(7), 6-1
3) Miller (UC) def. Karina (TU), 6-0, 6-4
4) Bellinger (UC) def. Okajima (TU), 6-2, 6-0
5) Khon (TU) def. Wille (UC), 7-6, 7-5
6) Nussaume (TU) def. Abdalla (UC), 6-2, 6-3

Order of Finish
Doubles: 1,2
Singles: 4,3,6,2,1,5

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