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CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati women's tennis team extended their winning streak to nine matches on a sunny Friday afternoon, earning a 4-2 conference victory over UConn at the Trabert-Talbert Tennis Center.
// DOUBLES
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
No. 1 | Alderman/Pletnyeva (UCONN) def. Bellinger/Poggensee-Wei (CIN) 6-4
No. 2 | Perrotta/Fitz-Rando (UCONN) def. Philp/Hutchison (CIN) 6-4
No. 3 | Flanagan/Lazaro (UCONN) def. Bramato/Morton (CIN) 6-4
UConn took the win in doubles action, clinching the point with wins on courts No. 2 and No. 3 before adding a third victory on the first court to earn the sweep.
// SINGLES
Order of Finish: 3,4,1,6,2
No. 1 | Lauren Bellinger (CIN) def. Emma Alderman (UCONN) 7-5, 6-0
No. 2 | Kelly Poggensee-Wei (CIN) def. Yelzaveta Pletnyeva (UCONN) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
No. 3 | Antonella Bramato (CIN) def. Jacquelyn Fitz-Rando (UCONN) 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 | Caroline Morton (CIN) def. Summer Walker (UCONN) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 | Anna Philp (CIN) vs. Jacqueline Lazaro (UCONN) 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 1-1, unfinished
No. 6 | Shea Flanagan (UCONN) def. Harley Hutchison (CIN) 6-0, 2-6, 6-4
Singles started out strong for the Bearcats with first-set victories on five of six courts. UC eventually evened up the score at one thanks to a 6-3, 6-1 victory on court No. 3 from Antonella Bramato (Pachuca, Mexico/Elise Freinet). UC then added two more points with Lauren Bellinger (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome) and Caroline Morton (Dubuque, Iowa/Evert Tennis Academy) both clinching their matches within moments of eachother. Bellinger battled close in a 7-5 opening set before cruising to a 6-0 second-set win. Morton extended her winning streak to 12 matches with a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
The final point proved more difficult than the first three. With three courts left playing, UC needed just one win. Howerver, both Kelly Poggnesee-Wei (Lake Villa, Ill./Grayslake North) and Anna Philp (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Central) found themselves headed to third sets after their opponents from UConn earned a win in the second set. On court No. 6, Harley Hutchison (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) was doing the opposite, coming back to win her second set 6-2 and force a third set.
After UConn earned a win on court No. 6 and with play close on court No. 5, Poggensee-Wei managed to earn a few cruicial duece points to secure up her match and earn a final break to take a 6-4 win in the third set.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will host ECU on Sunday, April 16 to close out the 2017 regular season. The match is scheduled to be played outside at the Trabert-Talbert Tennis Center at 2 p.m., but a final determination on playing site will be made Saturday evening based on weather.