Women's tennis beats Bama, 4-3, to advance in NCAAs

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Advance to NCAA Second Round with Clincher from Hadley Doyle in 4-3 Win Over Alabama

STILLWATER (SMU) — In their fourth back-to-back NCAA Championship appearance in program history, SMU (14-11) advanced to the second round of the 2024 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship as a result of Saturday's 4-3 win over No. 33 Alabama.

"It was an incredible college tennis match," head coach Jeff Nevolo said. "I would like to give so much credit to Alabama, they fought their tails off … Our girls did an incredible job of fighting on every single court today. Every court really went after it and I am super proud of Hadley [Doyle] to come back and finish things off with the energy she had."

Drew Morris and Hadley Doyle partnered to dominate their court in doubles action, winning the first two games and going on to win their match, 6-2. The pair currently holds a doubles record featuring 12 wins and only one loss.

On court one, No. 45 doubles pair Taylor Johnson and Lana Mavor partnered to take on Alabama's No. 20 Loudmilla Bencheikh and Anne Marie Hiser. In a hard fought battle, Johnson and Mavor secured the doubles point for SMU following the tiebreak (7-6(8-6)).

Against No. 61 Loudmilla Bencheikh, Johnson earned the Mustangs first point in singles play. The reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Year took her down in three sets — 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Nevolo said the Mustangs' ability to take down ranked opponents shows the level of tenacity the program possesses.

This was the Prescott, Arizona native's 17th singles win of the year. Additionally, this was Johnson's second single's victory over a nationally ranked opponent for the 2023-24 season.

"We are capable," Nevolo said. "The fact that we have never given up this whole season and that we have fought tooth and nail in all the matches we've played … that is how you get better."

SMU's Lana Mavor, who was the 2024 AAC Championship Most Outstanding Performer, secured her 18th win of the season in a three-set match against Anne Marie Hiser. This win put the match at 3-3, featuring Mavor's set scores of 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Coming down to court three, Hadley Doyle battled hard and took the first set, 6-4. Alabama's Ola Pitak — who had 14 wins so far this season including one win over a nationally ranked opponent, came back to take the second.

Following a delay due to weather in the midst of the third set, Doyle clinched the victory for SMU in less than five minutes following the resumption of play — 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

"I told myself I was going for it," Doyle said. "I was going to leave it all out there for my team and for my last season of collegiate play. It was such a surreal moment to be able to pull through and allow the team to win. It was a really nice moment with all of the girls surrounding me."

Up Next

SMU turns its attention to the second round of NCAA play. The Mustangs will face off against the winner of Fairlfield (12-8) and Oklahoma State's (27-0) match on Sunday at 2 p.m.

"We are taking things one point at a time," Doyle said. "We are looking forward to enjoying our win tonight and focusing on tomorrow when the time comes."

Doubles pair Lana Mavor and Taylor Johnson have earned an automatic qualifying spot for the 2024 Individual Championships. The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 20-25 at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 17-19 at the same site.

Doubles Scores:
No. 45 Taylor Johnson/Lana Mavor (SMU) def. No. 20 Loudmilla Bencheikh/Anne Marie Hiser (Alabama) - 7(8)-6(6)
Hadley Doyle/Drew Morris (SMU) def. Petra Sedlackova/Anna Parkhomenko (Alabama) - 6-2
Klata Milicevic/Ola Pitak (Alabama) def. Maja Makoric/Millie Skelton (SMU) - 6-1
Order of Finish - 3, 2, 1

Singles Scores:
Taylor Johnson (SMU) def. No. 61 Loudmilla Bencheikh (Alabama) - 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
No. 94 Petra Sediackova (Alabama) def. Drew Morris (SMU) - 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Hadley Doyle (SMU) def. Ola Pitak (Alabama) - 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Lana Mavor def. Anne Marie Hiser - 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Anna Parkhomenko def. Maja Makoric - 6-2, 6-2
Klara Milicevic def. Millie Skelton - 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish - 5, 2, 1, 6, 4

Significant 2023-24 Season Stats So Far:
- The Mustangs won their second consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship, sweeping then-No. 3 seed Memphis 4-0 in the final.
- This is the Mustangs' 13th NCAA Tournament appearance, with SMU also earning a spot in back-to-back years for the fourth time in program history.
- SMU women's tennis earned two of the three major American Athletic Conference postseason women's tennis honors, including Coach of the Year for head coach Jeff Nevolo and Player of the Year for graduate student Taylor Johnson.
- Jeff Nevolo won the previously mentioned Coach of the Year accolade in back-to-back years. He has won the award in two out of his five years so far with the Mustangs.
- Hadley Doyle and Taylor Johnson were both placed on the coveted AAC All-Conference Team.
- The Mustangs have been mentioned in the International Tennis Association's (ITA) rankings ten times so far, with final rankings to be determined following the conclusion of NCAA play.
- SMU was ranked as high as No. 32 in the team rankings.
- Junior Drew Morris was mentioned twice in the ITA singles rankings, reaching as high as No. 109 following deciding the match against then-No. 17 Vanderbilt with her three set thriller against No. 24 Bridget Stammel.
- Freshmen Caroline McGinley and Millie Skelton each made their impact on the Mustangs this year. Against Wichita State, LSU and TAMUCC, McGinley secured the Mustangs' wins by earning the final point of the matches. Skelton also clinched, winning the match for SMU against UTSA in the AAC Championship Quarterfinals.
- The Mustangs earned three wins over ranked opponents, including then-No. 17 Vanderbilt, then-No. 27 Denver and then-No. 47 Memphis.
- Doubles pair Taylor Johnson and Lana Mavor are currently ranked No. 45 in the ITA doubles rankings and have secured an automatic qualifying spot for the 2024 Individual Championships.

[Charleston Pony]

Nice win and their reward is getting to play an undefeated OSU squad on their home courts. Talk about a huge challenge!