Rockets Fall 4-3 to Miami

Sunday, April 22

Toledo, Ohio

1:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

Miami

Junior Claire Aleck won her No. 5 singles match in a match tiebreak today in Toledo's 4-3 loss to Miami (Ohio).

4/22/2018 6:11:00 PM | Women's Tennis

2018 MAC Women's Tennis Bracket

Toledo, Ohio - The Toledo women's tennis team fell 4-3 to Miami (Ohio) today to close out the Mid-American Conference regular season.

"This was a tough loss," head coach Tracy Mauntler said. "We had the doubles point but just didn't close, credit to Miami for playing well under pressure at No. 1 doubles. We showed our depth as we played great at No. 4, 5, and 6 singles. We feel that our best tennis is still in front of us."

The match started with the Rockets dropping the doubles point. The No. 2 pair of senior Colleen O'Brien and sophomore Dee Dee Leenabanchong were the first duo to finish, defeating Miami's Milana Lysova and Priyana Kalita 6-0. The Redhawks tied the doubles point with a 6-0 win over senior Megan Miller and junior Thalita Rodrigues in the No. 3 spot, leaving senior Sidnay Huck and junior Kokoro Chishaki to close things out for UT. Huck and Chishaki battled hard against the Redhawks' Nelli Ponomareva and Anastasiia Vasiukhin in the No. 1 spot, but ultimately fell 7-5.

The match boiled down to the doubles point as Toledo and Miami split the singles competition. The Red and White clinched the match with early wins in the No. 1-3 matches, but UT's bottom three didn't sway. Chishaki and Rodrigues each swept their opponents in two sets, leaving junior Claire Aleck to close things out. Aleck dropped her first set 4-6 but then went 6-3, 10-5 in the latter to close out her No. 5 match.

With the regular season in the books, Toledo looks to the MAC tournament. The Rockets enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and are scheduled to play No. 6 seed Ball State at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 27 in Muncie, Ind.

Miami 4, Toledo 3
Singles competition
1. Nelli Ponomareva (MIAMI) def. Deedee Leenabanchong (UT) 6-1, 6-2
2. Milana Lysova (MIAMI) def. Sidnay Huck (UT) 6-3, 6-3
3. Emily Struble (MIAMI) def. Colleen O'Brien (UT) 6-2, 6-1
4. Kokoro Chishaki (UT) def. Priyana Kalita (MIAMI) 6-4, 6-3
5. Claire Aleck (UT) def. Lena Babunski (MIAMI) 4-6, 6-3, 10-5
6. Thalita Rodrigues (UT) def. Makenzie Myers (MIAMI) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Nelli Ponomareva/Anastasiia Vasiukhin (MIAMI) def. Sidnay Huck/Kokoro Chishaki (UT) 7-5
2. Colleen O'Brien/Deedee Leenabanchong (UT) def. Milana Lysova/Priyana Kalita (MIAMI) 6-0
3. Emily Struble/Melati Devi (MIAMI) def. Megan Miller/Thalita Rodrigues (UT) 6-0

Highlights from UT's match against Miami.

Head Coach Tracy Mauntler post-match.