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'Hawks conclude fall season in Memphis

Jordan Rinard, Senior Staff Writer

The Miami University tennis team had an inconsistent showing in the Memphis Invitational this weekend as no player took three matches in singles play and the doubles teams could not win more than one match. The invitational was the last tournament of the fall season.

On the first day of the invitational, two RedHawks emerged victorious in singles play as sophomore Ana Rajkovic and freshman Andreea Badileanu took 6-0, 2-6, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-4 decisions, respectively. Senior Christiana Raymond, junior Ramona Costea, junior Christine Guerrazzi junior Alix Thurman and sophomore Chloe Heerden all fell in two sets on the day.

The doubles team of Raymond and Thurman picked up the lone doubles win for Miami in an 8-7(4) decision, prior to falling 1-8. Guerrazzi and Rajkovic dropped both their opening doubles match and their consolation match while Costea and Badileanu fell in the opening round and played their consolation match the following day.

In singles action on Day two, Rajkovic and Badileanu won their matches 6-0, 7-5 and 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 respectively to advance to the finals on the final day of the invitational. Making their way to the consolation finals Sunday were Raymond, Guerrazzi, Thurman, and Costea with each of their wins on the day.

Doubles play concluded for the 'Hawks with Costea and Badileanu falling 4-8 on the second day.

On the third day, Thurman was the only player that picked up a singles victory on the day as Raymond, Costea, Guerrazzi, Heerden, Rajkovic and Badileanu all fell in their matches.

"I think overall we had a good fall season," head coach Anca Dumitrescu said. "Everyone improved from last fall and was more consistent throughout the season. We just need to keep building that strong foundation and continue to improve our ability to play high percentage tennis every match regardless of the opponent. We can still do a better job with controlling the intangibles and as we improve that, we will become tougher and stronger competitors. Our success this spring will be a direct result of our ability to stick with the gameplan under pressure and our willingness to outcompete our opponents."

Thurman echoed the sentiments of her coach.

"Everyone competed really well this weekend," Thurman said. "There were a few ups and downs, but overall I think it was a good end to the fall season. Individually, I was happy with winning the back draw and finishing on a positive note. Every match was a tough one and I had to be in every single point. After this weekend, we could see that was the key to success. Some matches came down to just a few points. Being tough in those points are what it takes to compete at the next level which we are working towards."

The tennis team returns to action Jan. 17-19 as they travel to West Lafayette, Ind. for the Purdue Invitational prior to its regular season opener Jan. 26 against Xavier University.


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