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DUO WINS DICK VITALE TOURNEY: IT’S AWESOME, BABY!
Boren & Toti Win Dick Vitale Clay Court Classic Doubles Championship
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla.-
Sophomore Brynn Boren and freshman Sarah Toti, the top-seeded tandem at
the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic, won the
tournament’s doubles championship Sunday at the Lakewood Ranch Golf
& Country Club to cap a strong fall for the Lady Vol tennis program.
Much like Saturday’s semifinal match, a switch flipped, and the duo locked in.
Behind
3-2 to Oklahoma State’s Meghan Blevins and Mary Jeremiah, Boren and
Toti won six of the final seven games to claim the doubles title, 8-4,
at the nation’s only collegiate tournament on clay.
“It
was great,” Boren said. “It started off rough, but obviously we figured
it out in the end thanks to my partner. We had a great run. It was
exciting to play with her and I thought we did really well.”
The
pair also trailed in the semifinals, 7-6, before reeling off the last
three games against Notre Dame’s Britney Sanders and Katherine White to
advance to the title match.
While it’s their first
doubles title together, the win marks the second overall at UT for
Boren, who also won the 2010 USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional as a
freshman.
For Toti, her fall ends similarly to the
way it began - with a tournament championship. The Las Vegas, Nev.,
native won the flight four singles title at the Furman Fall Classic to
start her UT career.
“We definitely progressed
each match and got used to the clay a little bit,” Toti said. “I know
we both weren’t 100 percent comfortable, but we had some tactics we
learned and incorporated the lob a little bit more. Overall, I think we
learned a lot at this tournament and it’s just great that we won it.”
The 28th-ranked duo used the event’s first-round bye and three wins to finish the fall with an 11-3 record.
Sunday’s
win signals the end of the fall slate for the Tennessee women’s tennis
team and provides the Lady Vols with momentum heading into January.
“It
looks like we’ll have competitive doubles teams and in singles, we’ve
really seen flashes from the young ones,” co-head coach Mike Patrick
said. “We’re going to have to mature as quickly as possible, but we
don’t have a lot of time to season. Overall, it was a great fall.
We finished on a high note and now we have to get ready for January.”
Tennessee opens dual match play, Jan. 21-22, when the Lady Vols play Virginia and North Carolina in New York.
DICK VITALE INTERCOLLEGIATE CLAY COURT CLASSIC
Lakewood Ranch, Fla. - Results
DOUBLES MAIN DRAW RESULTS
# 28 Brynn Boren/Sarah Toti (UT) def. Meghan Blevins/Mary Jeremiah (Oklahoma St.) 8-4
Boren/Toti (UT) def. Britney Sanders/Katherine White (Notre Dame) 9-7
Boren/Toti (UT) def. Stephanie Mikesz/Mariya Slupska (Memphis) 8-5
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