MADISON, Wis. - The Maryland women's tennis team dropped its regular season finale to Wisconsin, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Despite the loss, the Terps have earned the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
Alexandra Stanova and Kristina Hovsepyan, the 84th-ranked doubles team in the country, started the day off well for the Terps by picking up a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles. However, the Badgers won the other two doubles matches, including a thrilling 7-6 (5) win at the No. 3 spot to earn the doubles point.
Maryland took the lead in the match early in singles play as Kristina Hovsepyan and Ekaterina Tour breezed to straight set victories.
Wisconsin responded when No. 89 Ekaterina Stepanova won her seventh straight match by upending Stanova in three sets.
The Terps took the lead, 3-2, when Cassandre Thebault garnered a hard-fought straight sets victory over Lauren Burich at No. 6 singles.
Freshman Arnelle Sullivan gave No. 54 Lauren Chypyha all that she could handle, but Chypyha picked up a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles to tie the match.
With the match tied at 3-3, it came down to Maryland's Nataliya Bredikhina and Wisconsin's Maria Avgerinos. After Bredikhina forced a deciding third set, Avgerinos went on to clinch the 4-3 win for the Badgers with a 7-5 win in the final set of play.
Maryland will take on 4th-seeded Illinois in its first match at the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, April 29. The tournament is being held in East Lansing, Michigan.
Singles competition
1. #54 Lauren Chypyha (WIS) def. Arnelle Sullivan (MARY) 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3
2. #89 Ekaterina Stepanova (WIS) def. Alexandra Stanova (MARY) 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
3. Maria Avgerinos (WIS) def. Nataliya Bredikhina (MARY) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
4. Kristina Hovsepyan (MARY) def. Kendall Kirsch (WIS) 6-3, 6-3
5. Ekaterina Tour (MARY) def. Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) 6-3, 6-0
6. Cassandre Thebault (MARY) def. Lauren Burich (WIS) 7-5, 7-6 (7-2)
Doubles competition
1. #84 Alexandra Stanova/Kristina Hovsepyan (MARY) def. Lauren Burich/Lauren Chypyha (WIS) 6-3
2. Ekaterina Stepanova/Sydney Rider (WIS) def. Arnelle Sullivan/Ekaterina Tour (MARY) 6-3
3. Kelsey Grambeau/Kendall Kirsch (WIS) def. Nataliya Bredikhina/Caroline Williams (MARY) 7-6 (7-5)
-Terps-
