STARKVILLE, Miss.– The No. 34-ranked Alabama women’s tennis team lost a 4-3 thriller to No. 33-ranked Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. With the loss, the Crimson Tide falls to a 6-6 overall record, while the Bulldogs improve to 8-2.
Mississippi State’s No. 8 ranked doubles pair Jasmine Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux topped senior Erin Routliffe and freshman Maddie Pothoff, 6-1, on court one to begin doubles play. Junior Smith Hinton and freshman Juliana Valero lost a 6-3 decision on court three to Madison Harrison and Khystyna Vozniak, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 match lead headed into the singles portion of the contest.
Alabama went on to tie the match score at 1-1 to begin singles play, as sophomore Andie Daniell (No. 2) defeated Harrison in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. Mississippi State’s Anastasia Rentouli overcame Hinton (No. 4) in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, before Pothoff (No. 5) topped Vozniak in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4, to tie the match score again at 2-2. The Bulldogs’ No. 73 ranked singles player Lee won a match that was decided in three sets over Alabama’s No. 116 ranked singles player Routliffe (No. 1), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, putting MSU back on top 3-2. Senior Danielle Spielmann (No. 3) knotted the match score at 3-3, as she won a three set thriller over Rioux, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. With the match point on the line, Sara Lizariturry won a three set banger over Valero (No. 6), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, to clinch the MSU match victory.
The Tide will be back in action on Friday, when it is set to host the Georgia Bulldogs at the Alabama Tennis Stadium in a match that is set to start at 6 p.m. CT.
