Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Wisconsin
Kauss Helps IU Shut the Door on Wisconsin
4/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
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Site: Nielsen Tennis Stadium (Madison, Wis.) Final Score: No. 48 Indiana 4, Wisconsin 3 Next IU Match: Sunday, April 19-- vs. Minnesota (Bloomington, Ind), 10:30 a.m. ET Related Links: 2015 Schedule |
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana women’s tennis team rebounded after dropping the doubles point to Wisconsin to take down the Badgers on the road on Friday, 4-3. Facing a 3-0 third-set deficit, IU’s Alecia Kauss rebounded to win the deciding singles match to send the Hoosiers home with a win.
“This was a tremendous road win for us,” head coach Lin Loring said. “It’s huge because it keeps us in the hunt for a bye in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. It also guarantees us a winning record in the conference. We are 3-3 now on the road and in all three wins we lost the doubles and came back to win the match 4-3.”
Wisconsin (10-10, 4-6) struck first by taking the doubles point.
The Badgers scored again right away in singles as Sydney Rider downed IU’s Stephanie Smith at No. 5 singles in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Katie Klyczek put Indiana (15-7, 6-4) on the board with her win at No. 1 over Lauren Chypyha, 6-4, 6-3.
Paula Gutierrez evened the ledger as she put away UW’s Lauren Burich in the No. 4 singles match, 6-4, 6-4. Ekaterina Stepanova gave the Badgers the edge again with her win in the No. 3 position over Indiana’s Shannon Murdy in three sets, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Carolyn Chupa made it a 3-3 score as she edged Wisconsin’s Kelsey Gambeau 7-6, 6-4 at No. 6.
With the match knotted at three points each, the No. 2 singles match between Indiana’s Alecia Kauss and Wisconsin’s Maria Avgerinos would decide the outcome. Avgerinos won the first set 6-3 before Kauss came back to take the second by the same score. After trailing 3-0 to start the third set, Kauss won six of the next seven games to rally past Avgerinos and earn the win for Indiana.
“We played for four hours tonight and we were down for all but 10 minutes of the match,” Loring said. “Alecia was the hero today. She was down 3-0 in the third in the deciding match, and won 6-4. We started really slow in doubles and never recovered. We lost badly in the doubles. I'm really proud of the way we fought back in singles. We found a way to win against a very good Wisconsin team.”
The Hoosiers will play their final regular season match on Sunday in Bloomington against Minnesota. That match will get started at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Results
No. 48 Indiana 4, Wisconsin 3
Singles
1. Katie Klyczek (IU) def. Lauren Chypyha (WIS) 6-4, 6-3
2. Alecia Kauss (IU) def. Maria Avgerinos (WIS) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Ekaterina Stepanova (WIS) def. Shannon Murdy (IU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Paula Gutierrez (IU) def. Lauren Burich (WIS) 6-4, 6-4
5. Sydney Rider (WIS) def. Stephanie Smith (IU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Carolyn Chupa (IU) def. Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) 7-6, 6-4
Doubles
1. Kelsey Grambeau/Lauren Chypyha (WIS) def. Alecia Kauss/Carolyn Chupa (IU) 8-6
2. Ekaterina Stepanova/Sydney Rider (WIS) def. Katie Klyczek/Kim Schmider (IU) 8-6
3. Lauren Burich/Maria Avgerinos (WIS) vs. Shannon Murdy/Stephanie Smith (IU) 7-5, unfinished
Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 1) Singles (5, 1, 4, 3, 6, 2)
Media Contact: Ryan Sheets, rmsheets@indiana.edu
Players Mentioned
