Tennis Rebounds with 5-2 Road Win at Dayton

CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati tennis team got back into the win column Sunday morning as the Bearcats went on the road and collected a 5-2 victory over host Dayton in a dual played at the South Regency Tennis Center in Miamisburg, Ohio. The Bearcats, who improved to 3-2 on the year, swept all three doubles matches for an early 1-0 lead before winning the first four completed singles matches to claim the win over the Flyers, who fell to 0-5.

// NOTES
• Since 1991-92, Cincinnati improved to 24-1 against Dayton and has won five in a row in the series
• In that same time, the Bearcats are a perfect 10-0 when playing at Dayton
• With two wins (singles and doubles), Emma Miceli has now won a combined 100 matches in her UC career (56 singles, 44 doubles)
• Caroline Morton moved up in the rankings at UC as she is now #7 in singles wins (67), #9 in doubles (54) and #10 in combined wins (121)
• With her two wins today, Morton also became just the 10th UC player with 120+ combined wins in a career

// TOTH TALKS
Following the match, Head Coach Eric Toth offered his thoughts on the play of his team:

"A nice response to Friday's loss today," Toth said. "I felt our level was just okay today, but our approach and competitiveness was very good. Nothing really lingered from Friday. It just feels good that our girls were able to earn another win."

// DOUBLES MATCHES
UC came out on fire from the start as they swept all three doubles matches to secure a 1-0 lead. The #2 team of Alexia Coutino and Miceli were the first to win as they claimed a 6-1 victory. The #1 team of Ioana Guna and Morton won their match, 6-2, to secure the doubles point before the #3 tandem of Kelli Niehaus and Maria Santilli won, 6-3, to complete the sweep

// SINGLES PLAY
All four singles wins for the Bearcats came in straight sets with UC winning all four before the Flyers would get on the board. Miceli was the first to win as she claimed a 6-2, 6-0 victory at #4 over Emily Zargham. That was followed by Morton winning her #2 match, 6-3, 6-1, over Kelly Pleiman. The dual was clinched following the #6 match as Anna Philp, playing in her first dual singles match of the season, scored a 6-0, 6-1 win over Mary Brascia. Leading 4-0, the Bearcats tacked on their final point at #5 as Niehaus tallied a 6-4, 6-1 win over Claire Ghidotti.

The final two matches went the way of the Flyers as UD won at #3 and #1 to close the day. At #3, Coutino took the first set, but eventually would fall, 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-2) to Erica Wojcikiewicz. Then, at #1, Guna dropped a three-set decision after battling back to win the second set. She fell, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (11-9).

// NEXT SERVE
Back-to-back home duals await the Bearcats next weekend as they are set to play host to both IUPUI and Western Michigan at the Western Tennis & Fitness Club in Cincinnati. The Bearcats and Jaguars will meet Friday, February 7, at 5 p.m. with the Bearcats and Broncos squaring off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, February 8.

Dual #5 • Cincinnati at Dayton
February 2, 2020 • South Regency Tennis Center (Miamisburg, Ohio)
Cincinnati wins, 5-2
SINGLES
1 • Paige Kompa (D) def. Ioana Guna, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (11-9)
2 • Caroline Morton (C) def. Kelly Pleiman, 6-3, 6-1
3 • Erica Wojcikiewicz (D) def. Alexia Coutino, 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-2)
4 • Emma Miceli (C) def. Emily Zargham, 6-2, 6-0
5 • Kelli Niehaus (C) def. Claire Ghidotti, 6-4, 6-1
6 • Anna Philp (C) def. Mary Brascia, 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 4-2-6-5-3-1

DOUBLES
1 • Guna / Morton (C) def. P. Kompa / K. Pleiman, 6-2
2 • Coutino / Miceli (C) def. Natalie Allen / E. Wojcikiewicz, 6-1
3 • Niehaus / Maria Santilli (C) def. Anna Delaney / Elizabeth Hamilton, 6-3
Order of finish: 2-1-3