Tennis Opens Spring Slate with Sweep of Army, 7-0

CINCINNATI - The 2020 dual season got off to a hot start for the University of Cincinnati tennis team as the Bearcats swept Army, 7-0, in the opener for both teams in a neutral site match played inside the Latuchie Tennis Center in Akron, Ohio. The Bearcats, who swept all six singles matches and won two of three in doubles play, moved to 1-0 on the year while the Black Knights fell to 0-1.

// TOTH TALKS
Following the opening-day victory, Head Coach Eric Toth had this to say about his team's performance against the Black Knights:

"A very nice opening match performance for our team today," Toth said. "Army has a very good program that has played in the NCAA Tournament over the last several years. We knew their girls would push us and compete well and we needed to be ready from the very first point today. Today was a great team win. Everyone who was out there for us today made an important contribution in deciding today's match. Kat (assistant coach Kat Adamovic) and I are so pleased with our girls' approach to today's opener. Today validates all of the on and off the court work that everyone has put in so far. We'll enjoy the win, get refocused tonight and be ready for a good Akron team tomorrow."

// DOUBLES MATCHES
Cincinnati battled to claim the doubles point with the team of Kelli Niehaus and Anna Philp combining to post a score of 7-6 (5) to claim the win at #3 doubles and clinch the point for the Bearcats. Ahead of their match, Alexia Coutino and Emma Miceli grabbed a 6-2 win at #2 doubles to take an early lead, but Army won at #1 doubles as Stephanie Dolehide and Caroline Vincent downed the UC duo of Ioana Guna and Caroline Morton, 6-3.

// SINGLES PLAY
Leading 1-0 following doubles, the Bearcats went to work in singles and quickly took a 2-0 lead as Maria Santilli won at #6 singles as her foe, Danna Funaro retired with the UC sophomore leading, 4-1, at the time. Shortly after, Miceli finished her match at #4 as she downed Vincent, 6-2, 6-1, to stake UC to a 3-0 lead. The Bearcats won the match as Morton clinched the team point as she posted a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Dolehide at #2 to push the UC advantage to 4-0.

The final three matches of the day all went the distance as the Bearcats claimed wins in three sets in all three. Guna dropped the first set at #1 to Anna Joyner before bouncing back to claim the win, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 10-8. Freshman Niehaus picked up her first dual win as a collegiate player as she was victorious at #5, rebounding from losing the first set to take a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Finally, Coutino also bounced back from a first-set loss to keep UC perfect on the day as she downed Elizabeth Gilbert at #3 with a 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 win.

// CHART WATCH
With her win at #2 singles, Morton now has 65 career singles victories to her credit, which ties her for #9 on the program's all-time Top 10 with both Karen Kippley (1991-94) and Mary Spencer (1989-92). Additionally, Miceli grabbed a pair of wins on the day (#4 singles & #2 doubles) to bring her career total to 96 total victories, leaving her four wins shy of reaching 100 for her career.

// NEXT SERVE
The Bearcats will return to action tomorrow at noon as they are set to face host Akron to close out the weekend. The match will be the second of three in a four-day span as UC will venture to Lexington, Ky., Tuesday at 5 p.m. to take on Kentucky as well.

Dual #1 • Cincinnati vs. Army
January 18, 2020 • Latuchie Tennis Center (Akron, Ohio)
Cincinnati wins, 7-0
SINGLES
1 • Ioana Guna (C) def. Ana Joyner, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 10-8
2 • Caroline Morton (C) def. Stephanie Dolehide, 6-2, 7-6 (7)
3 • Alexia Coutino (C) def. Elizabeth Gilbert, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
4 • Emma Miceli (C) def. Caroline Vincent, 6-2, 6-1
5 • Kelli Niehaus (C) def. MaryJo Pidgeon, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
6 • Maria Santilli (C) def. Danna Funaro, 4-1 (ret.)
Order of finish: 6-4-2-1-5-3

DOUBLES
1 • Stephanie Dolehide/Caroline Vincent (A) def. Guna / Morton, 6-3
2 • Coutino / Miceli (C) def. Paola Bou/Sophie McKenzie, 6-2
3 • Niehaus / Anna Philp (C) def. Hannah Boubel/Sasha Inchauste, 7-6 (5)
Order of finish: 2-1-3