Nov. 7, 2008

The Tennessee tandem of sophomore Jennifer Meredith and freshman Natalie Pluskota got the Big Orange off to a good start, picking up a pair of 8-1 triumphs in the White draw. The duo first downed the Auburn combo of Whitney Chappell and Jil Hastenrath before taking out Tiffany Welcher and Paulina Bigos from Alabama.

Although the UT pairing of junior Zsófia Zubor and sophomore Rosalía Alda dropped an 8-2 decision to the Crimson Tide combination of Courtney McLane and Taylor Lindsey, it bounced right back with an 8-4 win over the LSU duo of Whitney Wolf and Nicole Kantor in the Crimson draw.

In singles action, Zubor, Meredith and senior Samantha Orlin all emerged victorious in their second round matchups. Orlin got UT going with a come-from-behind victory over Mississippi State's Olesya Tsigvintseva, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the White draw, before Zubor swept Hastenrath, 6-3, 6-3, in the Gold draw. Meredith, meanwhile, tallied a 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-3, triumph against Vanderbilt's Heather Steinbauer in the Bronze draw.

UT's only other two participants, Alda and Pluskota, were defeated in the Crimson and Blue draws, respectively. Alda fell, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, to No. 55 Megan Broderick of Kentucky, while Pluskota was taken out by Alabama's Shelley Godwin in straight sets, 4-6, 4-6.

Play will begin on Saturday with the final round of doubles action at 9 a.m. A round of singles will follow. Following play this weekend, the Lady Vols will be off from competitive action until they open the spring portion of their schedule at the Michigan Invitational from Jan. 17-19. UT's first dual match will take place at 1 p.m. on Sat., Jan. 24 against Illinois in Champaign, Ill. From there, the Big Orange will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on Purdue the following day.

FRIDAY SINGLES RESULTS
Crimson Draw
No. 55 Megan Broderick (UK) def. Rosalía Alda (UT) - 6-3, 2-6, 6-4

White Draw
Samantha Orlin (UT) def. Olesya Tsigvintseva (MSU) - 4-6, 7-5, 6-3

Gold Draw
Zsófia Zubor (UT) def. Jil Hastenrath (AU) - 6-3, 6-3

Bronze Draw
Jennifer Meredith (UT) der. Heather Steinbauer (VU) - 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-3

Blue Draw
Shelley Godwin (UA) def. Natalie Pluskota (UT) - 6-4, 6-4

FRIDAY DOUBLES RESULTS
Crimson Draw
Courtney McLane/Taylor Lindsey (ALA) def. Rosalía Alda/Zsófia Zubor (UT) - 8-2
Rosalía Alda/Zsófia Zubor (UT) def. Whitney Wolf/Nicole Kantor (LSU) - 8-4

White Draw
Jennifer Meredith/Natalie Pluskota (UT) def. Whitney Chappell/Jil Hastenrath (AU) - 8-1
Jennifer Meredith/Natalie Pluskota (UT) vs. Tiffany Welcher/Paulina Bigos (ALA) - 8-1