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CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati women's tennis team battled close against nationally-ranked Indiana but came up just short, dropping the match by a 4-3 score Saturday afternoon inside the Western Tennis & Fitness Club.
// DOUBLES:
Order of Finish - 1, 2, unf.
No. 1 | Schmider/Whalen (IU) def. Abdalla/Miller (UC) 6-4
No. 2 | McLean/Wolf (IU) def. Bellinger/Hutchison (UC) 6-4
No. 3 | Bramato/Bure (UC) vs. Smith/Baron (IU) unfinished
The Bearcats lost their first doubles point of the season to the Hoosiers Saturday afternoon. Indiana was able to pick up a pair of close wins on courts No. 1 and 2 before play was stopped on court No. 3 with the score tied at six all.
// SINGLES
Order of Finish - 2, 1, 4, 6, 3, 5
No. 1 | Madison Appel (IU) def. Lauren Bellinger (UC) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 2 | Ali Miller (UC) def. Paula Gutierrez (IU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 | Sarah McLean (IU) def. Antonella Bramato (UC) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
No. 4 | Kim Schmider (IU) def. Natalia Abdalla (UC) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
No. 5 | Katya Bure (UC) def. Danielle Wolf (IU) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10-6)
No. 6 | Harley Hutchison (UC) def. Sarah Baron (IU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
Trailing 1-0 after the doubles round, Cincinnati came out firing in singles action, battling close on almost every court. Ali Miller (Portsmouth, Ohio/Portsmouth) took control early on court No. 2, running away with a 6-3 first-set win. Three other matches saw the first set going to a tiebreaker including Harley Hutchison (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) who recorded a 7-3 victory in the extra frame to give the Bearcats some momentum.
However, Indiana was able to pick up first set wins on courts No. 1, 3 and 4. Lauren Bellinger nearly forced a third-set but came up just short in the second-set tiebreaker to give Indiana the 2-1 lead. Indiana added another win on court No. 4 before Harley Hutchinson brought the Bearcats back within one with a win by Hutchison on court No. 6. However, IU clinched the match moments later with a win on court no. 4 despite a strong comeback effort by Natalia Abdalla (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Augusto Laranja).
Katya Bure won a gritty match on court No. 5, battling back from a 3-1 deficit in the third set to win 10-6 in the tiebreaker to wrap up action.