TicketsCINCINNATI – To quote beloved Bearcats radio voice, Dan Hoard, "and down goes Xavier!" The University of Cincinnati women's tennis team returned to the courts inside Western Tennis and Fitness Club Wednesday looking to take down crosstown foe Xavier. The Bearcats once again found themselves in a closely contested match, while it wasn't exactly a dual to the death, it did come down to the final singles court in play. After the dust cleared, the Bearcats were left standing victorious with the final score 4-3.
This marks the seventh match of the season that has been decided by one point.
// DOUBLES
Order of Finish: 1,2
No. 1 | Ghidotti/Abelson (XAVIER) def. Guna/Morton (UC) 6-3
No. 2 | Reichenbach/Kyle (XAVIER) def. Bramato/Coutino (UC) 6-2
No. 3 | Bagerbaseh/Manion (XAVIER) vs. Miceli/Miller (UC) 4-4 DNF
Xavier jumped out to an early lead taking the doubles point after notching victories on courts no. 1 and no. 2.
// SINGLES
Order of Finish: 2,5,1,4,3,6
No. 1 | Ioana Guna (UC) def. Ahmeir Kyle (XAVIER) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 | Lauren Ghidotti (XAVIER) def. Alexia Coutino (UC) 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 | Caroline Morton (UC) def. Sophia Abelson (XAVIER) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
No. 4 | Rachel Reichenbach (XAVIER) def. Antonella Bramato (CIN) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
No. 5 | Emma Miceli (CIN) def. Elizabeth Bagerbaseh (XAVIER) 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 | Anna Philp (CIN) def. Lauren Fitz-Randolph (XAVIER) 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4
Emma Miceli got the Bearcats on the board with a quick 6-3, 6-1 victory, snapping Bagerbaseh's three-match win streak. Ioana Guna quickly followed behind with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory of her own, tying the match 2-2. Xavier responded with a victory on court no. 4. After taking the first set and dropping the second, Caroline Morton found herself headed to the third set for the third straight time. This time she was not going down without a fight, winning her match and tying the score at 3-3.
Both teams moved quickly to the back court where Anna Philp and Lauren Fitz-Randolph (Xavier) were battling it out in the third set. Philp jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the third set, but Fitz-Randolph battled right back to cut the lead to 5-4. With both teams lining the court and parents watching from the stands above the court, Philp dealt the winning blow with a brilliant backhand. The match ended with Philp taking the victory in dramatic fashion by the score of 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4. Philp calmly walked to the net, shook hands with Fitz-Randolph and was then rushed by her teammates.
// COACH TOTH ON THE BEARCATS
"A really gutsy effort by our Bearcats today. Anytime Xavier and Cincinnati get together, any sport, you can expect nothing but the highest level of competitiveness by each team. Today was no exception. Xavier has a really good team and and will have a heck of a shot at winning their conference and playing in May. They competed very well today and were in position to win. It was just our day. Our girls just never gave in. There were times where it looked like we weren't quite going to get it done, but in the end we had several great performances by Emma, Ioana, Caroline, and Anna to get us to the finish line. I'm really happy for Anna Philp. She has been in this position a couple of times this season where it didn't quite go her way, but today her determination got it done for her team. I'm most proud of how this team embraced this match. We have several goals each year and beating Xavier is high on our list. In about as high pressure of a situation as our girls could be in, they responded exceptionally well and got it done."
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats return to action on Wednesday, April 4 against Northern Kentucky. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and will be played on campus at the Trabert-Talbert Tennis Center.
// FOLLOW THE TEAM
Stay connected with UC women's tennis on Facebook (GoBearcatsWTEN), Twitter (@GoBearcatsWTEN) and Instagram (GoBearcatsWTEN).
This marks the seventh match of the season that has been decided by one point.
// DOUBLES
Order of Finish: 1,2
No. 1 | Ghidotti/Abelson (XAVIER) def. Guna/Morton (UC) 6-3
No. 2 | Reichenbach/Kyle (XAVIER) def. Bramato/Coutino (UC) 6-2
No. 3 | Bagerbaseh/Manion (XAVIER) vs. Miceli/Miller (UC) 4-4 DNF
Xavier jumped out to an early lead taking the doubles point after notching victories on courts no. 1 and no. 2.
// SINGLES
Order of Finish: 2,5,1,4,3,6
No. 1 | Ioana Guna (UC) def. Ahmeir Kyle (XAVIER) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 | Lauren Ghidotti (XAVIER) def. Alexia Coutino (UC) 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 | Caroline Morton (UC) def. Sophia Abelson (XAVIER) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
No. 4 | Rachel Reichenbach (XAVIER) def. Antonella Bramato (CIN) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
No. 5 | Emma Miceli (CIN) def. Elizabeth Bagerbaseh (XAVIER) 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 | Anna Philp (CIN) def. Lauren Fitz-Randolph (XAVIER) 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4
Emma Miceli got the Bearcats on the board with a quick 6-3, 6-1 victory, snapping Bagerbaseh's three-match win streak. Ioana Guna quickly followed behind with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory of her own, tying the match 2-2. Xavier responded with a victory on court no. 4. After taking the first set and dropping the second, Caroline Morton found herself headed to the third set for the third straight time. This time she was not going down without a fight, winning her match and tying the score at 3-3.
Both teams moved quickly to the back court where Anna Philp and Lauren Fitz-Randolph (Xavier) were battling it out in the third set. Philp jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the third set, but Fitz-Randolph battled right back to cut the lead to 5-4. With both teams lining the court and parents watching from the stands above the court, Philp dealt the winning blow with a brilliant backhand. The match ended with Philp taking the victory in dramatic fashion by the score of 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4. Philp calmly walked to the net, shook hands with Fitz-Randolph and was then rushed by her teammates.
// COACH TOTH ON THE BEARCATS
"A really gutsy effort by our Bearcats today. Anytime Xavier and Cincinnati get together, any sport, you can expect nothing but the highest level of competitiveness by each team. Today was no exception. Xavier has a really good team and and will have a heck of a shot at winning their conference and playing in May. They competed very well today and were in position to win. It was just our day. Our girls just never gave in. There were times where it looked like we weren't quite going to get it done, but in the end we had several great performances by Emma, Ioana, Caroline, and Anna to get us to the finish line. I'm really happy for Anna Philp. She has been in this position a couple of times this season where it didn't quite go her way, but today her determination got it done for her team. I'm most proud of how this team embraced this match. We have several goals each year and beating Xavier is high on our list. In about as high pressure of a situation as our girls could be in, they responded exceptionally well and got it done."
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats return to action on Wednesday, April 4 against Northern Kentucky. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and will be played on campus at the Trabert-Talbert Tennis Center.
// FOLLOW THE TEAM
Stay connected with UC women's tennis on Facebook (GoBearcatsWTEN), Twitter (@GoBearcatsWTEN) and Instagram (GoBearcatsWTEN).