Tennis Falls to Visiting Miami (Ohio), 4-3

CINCINNATI - Maria Santilli three big come backs for the University of Cincinnati tennis team, but it was not enough as Miami (Ohio) spoiled the Bearcats' home opener by downing UC, 4-3, Friday night inside the Western Tennis & Fitness Club in Cincinnati. The loss dropped the Bearcats to 2-2 on the year while the RedHawks collected their first win in 2020 to move to 1-4 overall.

// NOTES
• Dating back to the 1991-92 season, the Bearcats are now 7-16 in their series with the RedHawks
• Cincinnati's four-match win streak in the series was snapped with tonight's loss
• The two teams have played to a 4-3 final five times in the series with teams alternating wins while MU is on top in those contests, 3-2
• Under Head Coach Eric Toth, UC is now 17-9 against foes from Ohio and 1-1 this year after defeating Akron earlier this season
• Since the 1991-92 season, UC is 17-12 in its first home dual of the season and saw its four-match winning streak snapped

// DOUBLES MATCHES
The visitors took a 1-0 lead by securing the doubles point as they won matches at #1 and #3. The UC team of Kelli Niehaus and Anna Philp fell at #3 doubles, 6-2, before the #1 pair of Ioana Guna and Caroline Morton fell, 6-3. The #2 match went unfinished with Alexia Coutino and Emma Miceli trailing, 4-3.

// SINGLES PLAY
MU won the first three completed singles matches on the night to clinch the team victory before UC won the final three matches to make it a 4-3 score. The Bearcats' first point of the night came at #6 where Santilli improved to 4-0 on the season in dual action as she downed Lena Babunski, 6-4, 7-6 (5). After winning the first set, Santilli found herself down, 5-2, in the second set. Despite the deficit, Santilli battled her way back to make it 6-6 and force the tie-breaker where she won, 7-5, to take the second set and the match.

Next, Niehaus posted a come-from-behind victory of her own as the rookie won the final two sets for the victory. In her match with Piryana Kalita at #5, Niehaus dropped the first set, 6-4, before roaring back to take the second, 6-2, and the third, 6-4, for the win. The final point of the night came at #4 where Coutino also had to battle back. She dropped the first set to Milana Lysova, 7-6 (14-12) before claiming the second set, 6-4. In the tie-breaker, she held off Lysova and claimed the set, 10-7, for the match win.

// NEXT SERVE
The Bearcats return to action Sunday morning as they will venture north to the South Regency Tennis Center in Miamisburg to take on host Dayton in a 10 a.m. dual.

Dual #4 • Miami (Ohio) at Cincinnati
January 31, 2020 • Western Tennis & Fitness Center (Cincinnati)
Miami (Ohio) wins, 4-3
SINGLES
1 • Brindtha Ramasamy (M) def. Ioana Guna, 6-0, 6-1
2 • Laura Rico (M) def. Caroline Morton, 7-6 (6), 6-2
3 • Melati Devi (M) def. Emma Miceli, 6-4, 6-1
4 • Alexia Coutino (C) def. Milana Lysova, 6-7 (12), 6-4, 1-0 (10-7)
5 • Kelli Niehaus (C) def. Priyana Kalita, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
6 • Maria Santilli (C) def. Lena Babunski, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Order of finish: 1-3-2-6-5-4

DOUBLES
1 • Ramasamy / Rico (M) def. Guna / Morton, 6-3
2 • Kalita / Lysova (M) led Coutino / Miceli, 4-3 (unfinished)
3 • Devi / Mackenzie Myers (M) def. Niehaus / Anna Philp, 6-2
Order of finish: 3-1