Box Score MOBILE, Ala. -- The ULM tennis team's remarkable
run ended Friday afternoon with a 4-3 loss to Denver in the Sun Belt Conference
quarterfinals at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala., in a match that
lasted nearly six hours. The Warhawks carried the nation's second longest win
streak of 17 matches into the tournament.
"I am so proud of our team," head coach Terrence De
Johng said. "This match could have gone either way, which you can tell from the
third set scores. As a program we are continuing to get better and will
continue to get better. Today was an epic match between two of the top teams in
the conference, it is a shame that we had to play at team as good Denver in our
first match."
The Warhawks (18-2) took a 3-1
lead after Letha Gaigher won 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 on court six, but the Pioneers
rallied back to win the final three matches -- two of them in three sets -- to
pull off the upset. ULM came in as the number two seed while the Pioneers were
seeded seventh despite nine of their losses coming to ranked opponents. The
tournament is seeded based on ITA rankings since there is no official Sun Belt
Conference schedule.
When the initial brackets were
released by the Sun Belt Conference, the Warhawks would have played either UALR
or Troy in the quarterfinals. However, the brackets were revised on Wednesday
afternoon which matched Denver against UALR in the opening round.
Sophia Bergner handed Claire
Clark (18-1) her first loss of the season with a furious rally on court one to
tie the match at 3-3. Clark took the first set 6-3 before Bergner came back to win 7-6 in the second and 6-4 in the
third.
Elena Najera won the match for
the Pioneers (9-13) with a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Monica Winkel on court
two in a match that lasted 3 hours and 56 minutes.
ULM claimed the doubles point for
the 19th time in 20 matches this season after picking up wins by
both of its all-conference teams. Clark and Winkel won 8-6 on court two to
improve to 19-1 on the season while Vivian Polak and Ana Burjaili won 8-5 on
court three to clinch the point.
Medy Blankvoort gave the Warhawks
a 2-0 lead with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Emma Isberg on court three before
Steffi Rath put the Pioneers on the board with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Polak on
court five. After Gaigher's victory, Caroline Schnell started the comeback for
Denver with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Burjaili on court four.
No. 7 Denver 4,
No. 2 ULM 3
Singles:
1. Sophia Bergner (DEN-W) def. Claire Clark (ULM) 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
2. Elena Najera (DEN-W) def. Monica Winkel (ULM) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
3. Medy Blankvoort (ULM) def. Emma Isberg (DEN-W) 6-4, 6-3
4. Caroline Schnell (DEN-W) def. Ana Burjaili (ULM) 6-2, 6-4
5. Steffi Rath (DEN-W) def. Vivian Polak (ULM) 6-2, 6-1
6. Letha Gaigher (ULM) def. Natalie Dunn (DEN-W) 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles:
1. Sophia Bergner/Steffi Rath (DEN-W) def. Medy Blankvoort/Letha Gaigher
(ULM) 8-3
2. Claire Clark/Monica Winkel (ULM) def. Elena Najera/Emma Isberg (DEN-W) 8-6
3. Vivian Polak/Ana Burjaili (ULM) def. Caroline Schnell/Natalie Dunn (DEN-W)
8-5
