By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information
Officially halfway through the team’s eight-game season-opening sequence of matches away from home, the University of Tennessee at Martin tennis squad saw a 7-0 setback at the hands of the scorching UAB Blazers on Saturday afternoon, unable to pick up a single individual or doubles victory despite one unfinished series that was teetering either way.
Decidedly winning their fourth consecutive match – having also defeated Samford, Central Arkansas, and Chattanooga in short order approaching the weekend – the Blazers put the Skyhawks away early with a pair of tag-team wins by combined scores of 12-4. Amelia Campbell and Aziza Aubin came the closest to a duos W by sitting at a 4-4 stalemate with Alexandra Da Silva and Vanessa Mellynchuk, although that series was forced to prematurely end due to the first two doubles sets tipping in UAB’s favor.
Of the six Skyhawk losses in one-on-one action, only one tipped into a three-set battle, as Mizuki Sakurai pushed Annalisa Smith to the limit thanks to a 6-3 win in the second go-around. However, the Blazer sophomore outdid the UTM senior 10-3 in the final rally to cement the 7-0 overall win for the home unit.
Campbell, Aubin, Lia Espinal, Sina Albersmeier, and Jule Streif all fell in 2-0 fashion across their respective singles matchups, with the latter two narrowly dropping a 7-5 decision on the way out. Additionally, Espinal’s 7-6 opening-set loss to Maggie White prevented the UT Martin freshman from scooping up a would-be third individual win of the early season.
UAB’s lopsided finish comes off a 6-1 win over the Skyhawks in 2021 and a 4-0 triumph the year before that. Dating back to last spring, the navy and orange have emerged on the losing end of 20 straight non-conference meetings.
Of the four dates thus far to have concluded for UTM, three of them have been against Conference-USA opponents, falling to Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, and the Blazers by a cumulative margin of 17-1.
Unable to get the proverbial monkey off their back during the early stages of nonconference action, the University of Tennessee at Martin tennis team was unable to avoid an identical result to the one from Saturday – a 7-0 setback against UAB – instead seeing the Samford Bulldogs deal them that same fate on Sunday afternoon in the Yellowhammer State.
Unable to pick up a win in singles or doubles territory for the second straight day, the Skyhawks fall to 0-5 in 2022 while the Bulldogs picked up their second win in as many days off the heels of a 4-3 barnburner with Western Kentucky, UTM’s first opponent of the new year a couple of weeks back.
The usual duos of Sina Albersmeier/Jule Streif and Mizuki Sakurai/Jillian Niedzialowski became the first pair to come out on the losing end of two-on-two proceedings by a combined score of 12-2. Head coach Caitlyn Williams unveiled a new tandem by unlocking a Lia Espinal/Ariadna Ondo combination, although their own series with Samantha Nanere and Lauren Waddles ended unceremoniously since Samford grabbed the W in the first two duels.
Earlier in the weekend, only one singles match extended into a third set for UT Martin when facing off with the Blazers (that sole series still unfortunately fell into the opposition’s favor). On Sunday, all six one-on-one contests ended at two-and-out, as no Skyhawk came within a closer score of 6-3 in a lopsided result.
In addition to UTM’s empty-handed start to the semester, the navy and orange have now drifted to 21 consecutive non-conference defeats dating back to February of 2020, a 6-1 victory then over Alabama A&M.
Emerging on the losing end of six straight doubles showings and 12 straight singles meetings, the Skyhawks will look to regroup next weekend in the midst of their season-opening eight-match streak of either neutral or true road appearances, this time with an in-state trip on deck, marking their third of the year.
Taking on NCAA Division II school Carson-Newman in Knoxville, Tenn. next Saturday, UTM will hope to right the ship against a program that has reeled off consecutive 7-0 victories at the time of writing, downing Young Harris and Lees-McRae over the weekend.
Opening serve with C-N in six days is primed for a 3:00 p.m. start.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information