FLORENCE, Ala. – Seizing a pair of doubles victories for the third consecutive trip on the court, the University of Tennessee at Martin tennis squad powered through their first home date on the 2022 schedule with a one-sided W over Missouri State at Skyhawk Tennis Complex Friday evening.
Leaving no doubt as to the outcome thanks to tag-team triumphs from Jule Streif/Sina Albersmeier and Jillian Niedzialowski/Mizuki Sakurai – along with three more singles wins courtesy of the latter three – UTM and head coach Caitlyn Williams firmly grasped their first overall win of the season after numerous close calls, the program’s first non-conference nod since February 2020.
Once the Skyhawks had already captured the doubles point on Friday – a feat also achieved versus Saint Louis and Chicago State last weekend on the road – Sakurai was able to keep the navy and orange ball rolling by besting Kate Miley 7-5 and 6-3. Albersmeier then followed that up with a similar-natured win over Mary Houston 6-1 and 7-5. The match-clinching point from Niedzialowski turned into the easiest of the semester for UT Martin, who gained one win in both singles and doubles play via Missouri State forfeit.
In two-on-two competition, Streif and Albersmeier soared to their 4th doubles victory of the season with a 6-0 shellacking of Houston and Miley. The tandem of Amelia Campbell and Aziza Aubin – who won both duos sets last weekend – was on the verge of another until Albersmeier and Streif did so first, ending that section of the match thanks to the aforementioned MSU forfeit.
Picking up their seventh and fifth individual wins respectively to polish off the blowout, Albersmeier and Sakurai’s convincing performances improve UTM to 1-8 on the season with three non-conference meetings remaining until OVC territory.
In another seesaw affair for the University of Tennessee at Martin tennis program Saturday afternoon, the Skyhawks fought tooth and nail with the Mocs of Chattanooga in their own backyard on a handful of tightly-contested rallies, falling in the end by a 4-0 margin, the same score from UTM’s win over Missouri State the previous day.
Amelia Campbell and Aziza Aubin – quietly becoming one of the most formidable duos for the navy and orange – came inches away from snagging the Skyhawks a point in two-on-two competition versus Coco Bosman and Callie Billman by grasping possession of a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately for head coach Caitlyn Williams’ club, UTC had already clinched the outright doubles decision with two other victories earlier.
Nearly every one of the Skyhawks’ singles bouts could’ve tilted towards either side over the weekend, although the Mocs took home three consecutive decisions to end the contest at 4-0, leaving unsure results from Aubin, Sina Albersmeier, and Lia Espinal (who each were in position to at least extend their respective series into a third set).
Espinal – the lone true freshman on UTM’s roster – bounced back from an opening set loss to Emma Van Hee by reaching a 5-3 win in the second stretch. Elsewhere on the court, both Aubin and Albersmeier were deadlocked in 4-4 and 2-2 ties during their respective matches against Billman and Jessie Young, forced to end things unresolved perhaps on the brink of closing out a point for the home side.
Having now grabbed at least one doubles victory in five consecutive meetings dating back to February 19th, the Skyhawks have boosted their win total in tag-team action to 20 since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, along with 33 more in singles tests. While the latter figure was unchanged following Saturday’s result against an in-state opponent, UT Martin continues to steadily climb up the ladder in the final stages of non-conference competition with a large dose of close results on their resume.
Only two more dates remain on UTM’s schedule before OVC play gets started, now undergoing a two-week break before returning to the outdoor court. Since the win over Missouri State and today’s battle against the Mocs stood as the only two non-conference matches at home for coach Williams and co., they’ll hit the road twice more in the span of three days to close non-conference proceedings, firstly facing UNC Asheville on Sunday, March 20th. Another trip to College of Charleston is on deck for the 22nd, leaving UT Martin with seven league bouts for the rest of the spring.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information