Freshman Natalia Maynetto fought her way through cramps in a three-hour singles match to clinch No. 8 Alabama’s 4-3 win over No. 19 Vanderbilt on Sunday at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Center. With the victory, the Crimson Tide improves to 16-2 overall and 8-1 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while the Commodores drop to 12-9 on the season and 5-5 in the league.
“I wanted this match so bad,” Maynetto said. “I had to make some adjustments physically, but I was in it mentally the entire time. This is definitely a confidence booster and gives me the fight I need as we move forward in our season.”
Alabama edged out Vanderbilt to take a 1-0 lead following doubles with wins on courts two and three. The Tide’s Maynetto and Emily Zabor dominated on court three, earning an 8-3 victory over the Commodores’ Georgina Sellyn and Frances Altick. Because Vanderbilt collected the win on court one, the doubles point would come down to the matchup on court two that was close in the early stages, but Alabama’s Antonia Foehse and Maya Jansen came up big in the end to secure the point with an 8-5 victory over Ashleigh Antal and Marie Casares.
The two teams traded points in singles, which eventually tied the match at 3-3. No. 56 Alexa Guarachi tallied the Tide’s first singles point, winning 6-1, 6-1 over Casares. Antal got the Commodores on the board next, as she collected a 6-1, 6-3 victory on court five, before a 6-2, 6-4 win from 26th-ranked Mary Anne Macfarlane on court one over No. 61 Lauren Mira put Alabama ahead 3-1. From there, Vanderbilt won the next two matches to even the score, leaving the clincher up for grabs on court six.
“That was an incredible performance,” Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz said. “The spirit, fight and tenacity we showed today are all characteristics that have carried us throughout the season. The bottom line is this team won’t quit. I think today we also played with Coach [Mal] Moore in our hearts. He has supported this team, and I really believe they played in his honor.”
Alabama will take on SEC newcomers Missouri and Texas A&M in the Tide’s final road trip of the regular season on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
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