Strong Singles Play Pushes No. 43 Women’s Tennis to 4-1 Win over Middle Tennessee

Friday, March 31

New Orleans

10 am

Tulane University

Middle Tennessee

Photo by: Parker Waters

Strong Singles Play Pushes No. 43 Women’s Tennis to 4-1 Win over Middle Tennessee

Mar 31, 2017 | Women's Tennis

Atkinson, Alvaro, Muller & Sisti all win in singles

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NEW ORLEANS – The No. 43 Tulane women's tennis team (19-5) moved one step closer to their first 20-win season in the post-Katrina era on Friday morning, utilizing strong singles play to win 4-1 over Middle Tennessee (6-12). Sade Atkinson, Ivone Alvaro, Elena Muller and Christina Sisti all recorded singles wins today.

"I'm really excited about another quality win today," Tulane head coach Terri Sisk said. "I think we started off very sloppy in doubles. We had a very low energy and were very lackluster in our intensity. We constantly talk about bringing energy and heart to every point in every set in every match. I was very happy with the way we responded in singles. Our meeting between the doubles and singles was honestly not a very fun meeting for us, but the girls responded in a very positive way got the job done."

Despite losing the doubles point, the pairing of Ivone Alvaro and Sade Atkinson continued to roll as a pairing, winning their fifth straight to improve to 9-1 after a decisive 6-2 win on court one.

In singles, the Green Wave quickly recaptured the momentum by taking five of the six first sets, all 6-3, before Atkinson, Alvaro and Muller all finished within two minutes of each other to jump Tulane out to a 3-1 lead.

The remaining three courts all pushed into third sets where Sofia Kurtz jumped on her opponent up 4-1, but it was Sisti who finished first on court five via a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 final. With the win, Sisti improved to a co-team best 15-5 alongside fellow freshmen Alvaro.

Up next, Tulane immediately returns to the courts at City Park on Saturday for a 10 a.m. start time against Louisiana Tech. Then the Wave conclude the weekend with UConn at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

GREEN WAVE RESULTS
#43 Tulane 4, Middle Tennessee 1
Singles competition – 2, 3, 4, 5
1. Kyla Klier (TLN) vs. Maria Zehnder (MTSU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-2, unfinished
2. Sade Atkinson (TLN) def. Lidia Burrows (MTSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Ivone Alvaro (TLN) def. Costanza Magazzini (MTSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Elena Muller (TLN) def. Luisa Zirilli (MTSU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Christina Sisti (TLN) def. Marta Peris Herrero (MTSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
6. Sofia Kurtz (TLN) vs. Sarah Sediri (MTSU) 4-6, 6-3, 4-1, unfinished
Doubles competition – 2, 1, 3
1. Ivone Alvaro/Sade Atkinson (TLN) def. Luisa Zirilli/Sarah Sediri (MTSU) 6-2
2. Costanza Magazzini/Lidia Burrows (MTSU) def. Sofia Kurtz/Elena Muller (TLN) 6-0
3. Marta Peris Herrero/Maria Zehnder (MTSU) def. Kyla Klier/Christina Sisti (TLN) 6-4