Coming off an emotional 4-3 win against Oklahoma last week, the Alabama women’s tennis team wasted no time Saturday when the team took down the Georgia State Panthers 6-1.
The doubles matches began, and Alabama quickly gained the lead. Mary Anne Daines and Danielle Spielmann won 6-2, while Emily Zabor and Luicelena Perez won by the same score, clinching the first point of the match.
“We won the doubles point and then came out of the gate fast in singles,” Alabama coach Jenny Mainz said.
The Crimson Tide started singles off with a bang, taking one-set leads on every court. Maya Jansen, Danielle Spielmann and Erin Routliffe all won in straight sets. Routliffe clinched the match 4-0 after a 6-3, 6-2 win over Linn Timmermann.
“It was awesome,” Routliffe said. “I’m just happy we all played well and competed well.”
The closest match of the day featured the No. 1 players from both teams.
At No. 8 in the country, Georgia State’s Abigail Tere-Apisah came in as a huge favorite over Alabama senior Mary Anne Daines. Daines took an early lead by winning the first set 6-2. Tere-Apisah came back in the second set, which featured five breaks, to win 6-4. The final set was condensed to a 10-point tiebreak, and Tere-Apisah outlasted Daines 10-4.
Despite falling to Tere-Apisah, Mainz said she still has confidence in Daines.
“Mary Anne is going to get that match,” Mainz said. “Mary Anne is there; she just has to trust it. She’s got to stay the course and continue to believe it.”
Emily Zabor and Natalia Maynetto also won to wrap up the afternoon, giving Alabama a 6-1 victory over the Panthers.
“I think we were well-prepared,” Mainz said. “I liked our mental toughness, and I liked how we closed out matches.”
The win improves Alabama’s record to 3-0 before the team travels to Charlottesville, Va., for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Feb. 7-11. Alabama will get to play against some of top teams in the country.
“I’m very pumped,” Routliffe said. “The whole team is excited.”
Improvement and preparation for the rest of the season was a big point Saturday. With the win, Alabama showed it is moving in the right direction.
“We needed a good match like this,” Mainz said. “We’re just trying to get better and continue improving.”
