NASHVILLE–The Lipscomb women’s tennis team lost to the UAB Blazers 5-2 Saturday afternoon in their last competition of the indoor season at Ensworth High School.
The Bisons played matches in back-to-back days for the first time this season after defeating in-city rival Belmont 4-3 the day before.
Despite senior Maddux Brandy and sophomore Sasha Dobranos’ commanding 6-1 win in the doubles round, the Bisons fell behind 0-1 to start as they were unable to win the other two doubles matches.
“We showed some good things [but] we really just blew the doubles point which really changed the trajectory…it was just one of those days where we had to be a little bit tougher,” assistant coach Dwight Dale said.
The Bison’s performances in the singles matches did not reflect the final score as there were four tiebreakers that occurred throughout the tight matches.
Dobranos won her first competitive set with a tiebreaker win and finished with a 6-4 win in her second set. Courtside to Dobranos’ match, Kate Popova, hailing from Donetsk, Ukraine, fought valiantly as she faced three tiebreaker sets in a row, winning the match in the final two sets.
Beginning in March, the Bisons will play three matches in a span of five days.
“Our girls know that we are going to be playing against really good competition,” Dale said, “[but] we’re capable of doing it. It’s just a matter of going out and taking care of business.”
Lipscomb’s record sits at 3-4 after the weekend slate and will now play on campus at the Huston-Marsh-Griffith Tennis Center for the remaining scheduled home games. The Bisons will resume play against Villanova on Tuesday, March 1st at Lipscomb University.
Singles:
- Sasha Dobranos (LIP) def. Hecking (UAB) 7-6, 6-4
- Kate Popova (LIP) def. Wasserbauerova (UAB) 7-6, 6-7, (10-4)
- Clarke (UAB) def. Emma Zakordoniec (LIP) 6-0, 6-2
- Mellynchuk (UAB) def. Anja Trbeznik (LIP) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
- White (UAB) def. Liza Diachenko (LIP) 6-1, 6-1
- Smith (UAB) def. Brandy (LIP) 6-1, 7-6
Doubles:
- Clarke/ White (UAB) def. Popova/ Trbeznik (LIP) 7-6
- Brandy/ Dobranos (LIP) def. Mellynchuk/ da Silva (UAB) 6-1
- Wasserbauerova/ Ratkic (UAB) def. Chapman/ Zakordoniec (LIP) 6-3
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics