4-2 DIFFERENCE IN SINGLES PLAY HALTS UTM TENNIS IN NEAR MISS AT LIPSCOMB

Friday, February 4

Nashville, Tenn.

6 p.m.

UT Martin

Lipscomb

4-2 DIFFERENCE IN SINGLES PLAY HALTS UTM TENNIS IN NEAR MISS AT LIPSCOMB

2/4/2022 10:46:00 PM | Tennis

BOX SCORE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the second consecutive outing to begin the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, an initial jolt of momentum in doubles competition was ultimately unsustained for the University of Tennessee at Martin tennis team, dropping a back-and-forth battle with Lipscomb in the state's capital on Friday night. Losing the first three singles bouts to take the back end of a 4-3 decision at the hands of the Bisons, the Skyhawks' empowering start wasn't quite enough to reach the finish line as Lipscomb completed the come-from-behind victory.

Seeing each other but not competing amongst themselves at the tail end of last weekend – instead facing mutual foe Western Kentucky in Bowling Green – UTM went head-to-head with the Bisons for the first time since last October's ITA Ohio Valley Regional Tournament, wherein the Skyhawks captured wins in four out of the six singles sets against Lipscomb. However, Friday's duel took a turn towards the opposite end, sending UT Martin to an 0-2 record in the infant stages of non-conference play.

Tag team action more often than not favored the Skyhawks in what served as the first of a two-match spurt in less than 24 hours, as the duos of Aziza Aubin/Amelia Campbell and Sina Albersmeier/Jule Streif captured wins in doubles competition, 6-0 and 6-4 respectively.

Lipscomb was able to notch their own two-on-two win sandwiched in between UTM's pair of victories, although the tide suddenly turned once the players shifted to the singles courts. From there, Campbell, Aubin, and Mizuki Sakurai took three losses in a row to put the Skyhawks in a bind.

For a moment, it seemed as if UT Martin was well on their way to climbing out of the hole they found themselves in from that point, thanks to an Albersmeier triumph over Anja Trbeznik by a score of 6-4 repeated. That one-on-one set was nearly identical to the pair's series in the fall in exhibition play, giving the navy and orange some life.

True freshman Lia Espinal extended the Skyhawks' rally during her first appearance of the semester, downing Liza Diachenko in a three-set affair that all bared the same score of 6-2. Bringing the contest to a climactic finish, the winner of the Jule Streif/Kate Popova series would come away with the overall victory for her team, unfortunately leaning to the Bisons' favor in a 6-1 final set ruling.

When looking back at last Sunday's opener against the Hilltoppers, UTM has already seen a doubles win from six different members of the roster in only two meetings. In the end, the slow start to singles competition proved too much to fully fight back from, although Streif's efforts proved it was doable in the four-hour long marathon against Lipscomb.

UT Martin will have little time to regroup when traveling to face their next opponent, taking on the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee on Saturday afternoon in the third of what will eventually become eight road matches in a row to open the 2022 spring slate.

Just like the Bisons, MTSU and the Skyhawks briefly shared the court at the ITA Regionals nearly four months ago in the Blue Raiders' home site. Following a lopsided 7-0 win over IUPUI on Friday, Middle Tennessee will enter tomorrow's matchup with a 3-5 overall record while UTM searches for their first win in their third attempt.

First serve in Murfreesboro will take place at approximately 12:00 noon on Saturday.