Texas Tech Athletics
Wake Forest
Lady Raiders fall in championship round of Blue Gray tournament
February 24, 2024 | Women's Tennis
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Texas Tech Lady Raiders advanced to the championship round of the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic after defeating Wake Forest, 4-1, in the semifinals on Saturday at Lagoon Park. The Lady Raiders would move on to the finals against Alabama where they dropped the hard-fought match by a 4-2 score.
Yesterday, both Wake Forest (5-4) and Texas Tech (7-4) began doubles play, with the Lady Raiders coming out on top. The Demon Deacons went out to a quick lead after taking the match at court three by a 6-1 score.
The Lady Raiders evened the score when Mariya Polishchuk and Cristina Tiglea defeated the duo of Krystal Blanch and Casie Wooten, 6-4, at court two. It all came down to court one as No. 7 Metka Komac and Avelina Sayfetdinova were competing against Marcella Cruz and Brooke Killingsworth. The Tech pairing was down most of the match but would clinch the doubles point with a 7-5 win after claiming four-straight games.
Wake Forest would tie things up after winning the first singles match of the morning at court one as No. 26 Wooten defeated No. 59 Tiglea, 6-1, 6-3. Texas Tech answered right back when Andreea Lila won at court six over Blanch. In the first set, Lila went up 5-2 before Blanch came back to tie it at 5-5. Lila would pull out the victory after winning the next two games, 7-5. Then in set two, Lila was down 4-1 but would respond by winning three of the next four games. Blanch held a 5-4 lead, but the Lady Raider claimed three-consecutive games for the 7-5, 7-5 victory to put Tech up 2-1.Â
Over at court two, Polishchuk extended Tech's lead after getting a come-from-behind win against Killingsworth. The Demon Deacon had the early advantage when she won the first set, 6-4. In set two, Polishchuk was down 1-2 before rallying off five of the next six games to win it, 6-3, and force a third. In the final set, Polishchuk led 4-2 and maintained that lead as she claimed the match by a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 score.
Clinching the match for Lady Raiders was Sayfetdinova at court three against Cruz. Sayfetdinova took an early 4-1 lead before Cruz came back to force a tiebreaker. In the breaker, the Lady Raiders cruised through it after winning the first set, 7-6 (3). In set two, Cruz held a 5-4 advantage, but Sayfetdinova earned three-straight games to clinch it with a 7-5 score and send the Lady Raiders to the championship match for the second year in a row.
In the championship round against No. 35 Alabama (9-1), the Lady Raiders began by winning their eighth doubles point of the year. First, the duo of Polishchuk and Tiglea earned a win over Anna Parkhomenko and Petra Sedlackova, 6-4, at court two. Then, the No. 7 pairing of Komac and Sayfetdinova clinched the point after defeating No. 37-ranked Anne Marie Hiser and Loudmilla Bencheikh at court one by a 7-6 (5) score.
In singles, Texas Tech would go up by a 2-0 score whenever Polishchuk picked up a ranked victory over No. 79 Sedlackova by a commanding 6-1, 6-1 score at court two. However, the Crimson Tide evened the match at 2-all whenever they recorded wins at courts one and five. Alabama was able to clinch the match after gaining wins at courts four and six, respectively. When the match finished, Sayfetdinova was ahead of Hiser at court three, 6-4, 4-6, 5-1, before her match ended.
Up next, the Lady Raiders begin Big 12 play as they head to Houston to take on the Cougars on Thursday, February 29 at 1 p.m.
RESULTS
#22 Texas Tech 4, #57 Wake Forest 1
Singles
1. #26 Casie Wooten (WFU) def. #59 Cristina Tiglea (TTU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Mariya Polishchuk (TTU) def. Brooke Killingsworth (WFU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) def. Marcella Cruz (WFU) 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
4. Kate Dmitrichenko (TTU) vs. Nevena Carton (WFU) 4-6, 6-6 (3-5), unfinished
5. Metka Komac (TTU) vs. Sankavi Gownder (WFU) 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 1-2, unfinished
6. Andreea Lila (TTU) def. Krystal Blanch (WFU) 7-5, 7-5
Doubles
1. #7 Metka Komac/Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) def. Marcella Cruz/Brooke Killingsworth (WFU) 7-5
2. Mariya Polishchuk/Cristina Tiglea (TTU) def. Krystal Blanch/Casie Wooten (WFU) 6-4
3. Sankavi Gownder/Whitley Pate (WFU) def. Andreea Lila/Jermine Sherif (TTU) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (1, 6, 3, 2)
#22 Texas Tech 2, #35 Alabama 4
Singles
1. #31 Loudmilla Bencheikh (ALA) def. #59 Cristina Tiglea (TTU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
2. Mariya Polishchuk (TTU) def. #79 Petra Sedlackova (ALA) 6-1, 6-1
3. Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) vs. Anne Marie Hiser (ALA) 6-4, 4-6, 5-1, unfinished
4. Ola Pitak (ALA) def. Metka Komac (TTU) 6-4, 7-6 (6)
5. Anna Parkhomenko (ALA) def. Andreea Lila (TTU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Klara Milicevic (ALA) def. Jermine Sherif 7-5, 7-6 (5)
Doubles
1. #7 Metka Komac/Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) def. #37 Anne Marie Hiser/Loudmilla Bencheikh (ALA) 7-6 (5)
2. Mariya Polishchuk/Cristina Tiglea (TTU) def. Anna Parkhomenko/Petra Sedlackova (ALA) 6-4
3. Andreea Lila/Jermine Sherif (TTU) vs. Ola Pitak/Klara Milicevic (ALA) 5-6, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1); Singles (2, 5, 1, 4, 6)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
1,6,2,3
Players Mentioned
