May 14, 2004

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - University of Tennessee freshman Blakeley Griffith defeated Wisconsin's Lindsay Martin, 7-2, in a third-set tiebreak to give the 24th-ranked Lady Vols a dramatic, 4-3 victory over the 50th-ranked Badgers in the first round of NCAA Tournament play on Friday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.

Tennessee's Blakeley Griffith and Sabita Maharaj won the first doubles match 8-2 at the three seed over Kaylan Caiati and Shana McElroy. Wisconsin's Caitlin Burke and Teresa Gonzaga took the No. 2 match 8-3 over Breanna Kray and Ashley Robards to even doubles play to one all. At No. 1 doubles, Katie McGaffigan and Lindsay Martin of Wisconsin, ranked 42nd nationally, took a 9-7 victory over Tammy Encina and Majen Immink of Tennessee to clinch the doubles point for the Badgers.

In singles play, #37 Encina defeated #73 McGaffigan 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 1 seed to even the team match at one all. In the second-seeded match, #55 Maharaj handled McElroy 6-0, 6-1 to put the Lady Volunteers up 2-1.

At the No. 3 match, Burke evened the match at two all as she beat Tennessee's Robards 6-2, 6-0. Then in the sixth-seeded match, Tennessee's Victoria Jones beat Gonzaga 6-2, 6-1 to regain the team lead 3-2.

To keep the match alive, Wisconsin's Caiati took a three-set victory at the fifth seed over Immink 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. With the match knotted up at three points each, the No. 4 match would be the deciding point.

Tennessee's Griffith held on to beat Martin 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(2) to clinch the victory for the Lady Volunteers.

Wisconsin finishes the season at 13-12 while Tennessee moves to 14-13. The Lady Volunteers, a 17-32 seed, will play #15 North Carolina, the 14th seed, at 4 p.m. on Saturday for the chance to move on to the Round of 16 in Athens, Ga. North Carolina defeated Winthrop in today's second match 4-0.

#24 Tennessee 4, #50 Wisconsin 3
Singles
1. #37 Tammy Encina (UT) def. #73 Katie McGaffigan (Wis) 6-3, 6-0
2. #55 Sabita Maharaj (UT) def. Shana McElroy (Wis) 6-0, 6-1
3. Caitlin Burke (Wis) def. Ashley Robards (UT) 6-2, 6-0
4. Blakely Griffith (UT) def. Lindsay Martin (Wis) 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(2)
5. Kaylan Caiati (Wis) def. Majen Immink (UT) 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
6. Victoria Jones (UT) def. Teresa Gonzaga (Wis) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: #1, #2, #3, #6, #5, #4

Doubles (Point to Wisconsin
1. #42 McGaffigan/Martin (Wis) def. Encina/Immink (UT) 9-7
2. Burke/Gonzaga (Wis) def. Breanna Kray/Robards (UT) 8-3
3. Griffith/Maharaj (UT) def. Caiati/McElroy (Wis) 8-2
Order of finish: #3, #2, #1