Petchey leads women's tennis to 4-3 win over Mississippi St.

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From SMUMustangs.com:

Petchey Propels Mustangs In 4-3 Win Over Mississippi State

WACO, Texas (SMU) – Graduate senior Nicole Petchey's win in doubles with sophomore partner Winslow Huth, coupled with a three-set singles win over Mississippi State's Alexandra Mikhailuk, led the SMU women's tennis team to a 4-3 win over Mississippi State.

The Mustangs (5-3, 1-0 AAC) opened the day with a 1-0 lead, claiming the doubles point off a dominant 6-1 win on court one from Claudia Bartolome/Jackie Nylander, and a 9-7 tiebreaker decision on line three for Petchey/Huth.

Bartolome/Nylander raced to a 5-0 lead before the MSU duo of Emmanouela Antonaki/Tamara Racine responded with a win of their own to avoid the shutout. The Mustang duo finished off their Bulldog opposition 6-1, to improve to 3-3 in dual play.

Petchey/Huth owned as much as a 4-2 lead over Mikhailuk/Alessia Tagliente, before the MSU pair climbed back to tie the affair. Both sides traded wins on the way to a tiebreaker set at 6-6. In the tiebreak, Petchey/Huth trailed 3-0 to open, then found momentum on the way to a 5-5 draw. Two lead changes led to a 7-7 tally, before Petchey/Huth claimed the 8-7 and eventual 9-7 wins, sealing the doubles point in favor of SMU and notching the pair's first win of the dual season, while handing the Bulldogs their first doubles loss of the season.

With the day's match tied at three points apiece, Petchey's singles outing against Mikhailuk was set to decide the overall winner.

After falling 6-4 in set one, Petchey responded with a 6-2 win of her own to force a deciding set. At 2-1 in the third set, with all five other matches completed, Petchey won four-straight games, clinching her third singles victory of the season and the overall win for the Mustangs.

"Nicole left it all out there today to get the job done in both doubles and singles," said head coach Jeff Nevolo. "It's great getting to watch a senior out there in a big moment like that."

Junior Lana Mavor claimed SMU's opening singles win of the day on line three, with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Mississippi State's Tamara Racine. In the first set, Mavor fell behind 3-0, before winning three unanswered games to even the set. After Racine won the seventh game, Mavor took on another three-game streak to win the opening set. After losing the opening game in set two, Mavor cruised to a 6-1 victory, improving her dual singles record to 3-3 this season.

In her second singles start of the dual season, freshman Drew Morris improved her season record to 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Tagliente on court six. Morris played the majority of the opening set behind, before winning four-straight to take a one-set lead. The freshman led as far as 5-1 in the second, before Tagliente tightened the gap to 5-4 with three-straight game wins, before Mavor was able to cut off her opponent to seal her second straight-set win of the spring.

"Everyone contributed to the win, but it was special getting to see Drew win in a big match today," Nevolo said. "She showed a lot of heart for a freshman playing against a tough SEC opponent."

Nevolo praised his team for their resilience in the face of a four-week, six-opponent road trip, and relishes the opportunity for the Mustangs to return to competition in front of a home crowd in Dallas:

"I'm very proud of how our team responded after a tough match against a very good Baylor team yesterday," Nevolo said. "It's been a challenging month with a lot of travel, and the team gutted it out today to end a long road swing on a high note.

"It'll be nice to be back home, and to be back in the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex for Friday's match against Wisconsin."

SMU (5-3, 1-0 AAC) vs. Mississippi State (6-2, 0-0 SEC)
SMU 4, MSU 3
Hurd Tennis Center - Waco, Texas | 12 p.m. CT

Doubles:
Jackie Nylander/Claudia Bartolome (SMU) def. Emmanouela Antonaki/Tamara Racine (MSU) 6-2
Magda Adaloglou/Chloe Cirotte (MSU) def. Lexi Keberle/Lana Mavor (SMU) 6-4
Nicole Petchey/Winslow Huth (SMU) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk/Alessia Tagliente (MSU) 7-6(7)

Singles:
Magda Adalglou (MSU) def. Lexi Keberle (SMU) 7-5, 7-6(3)
Emmanouela Antonaki (MSU) def. Jackie Nylander (SMU) 6-3, 6-0
Lana Mavor (SMU) def. Tamara Racine (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
Chloe Cirotte (MSU) def. Claudia Bartolome (SMU) 6-1, 6-2
Nicole Petchey (SMU) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Drew Morris (SMU) def. Alessia Tagliente (MSU) 6-4, 6-4