Bulldogs' Title Bid Falls Just Short, As UIC Rallies In Final Match

April 29, 2007

Indianapolis, Ind. - The Butler women's tennis team rallied to the brink of its first Horizon League Championship, battling top-seeded UIC to at 3-3 deadlock, but the Flames rallied in the final match of the day to come away with the deciding point at the North Central High School tennis courts on Sunday (April 29) afternoon.

Butler, which fell to UIC by a 7-0 score in the regular season, gave the Flames the closest championship match since the 2002 season.

With the Bulldogs trailing, 3-2 with two singles matches left to play, Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Molly Casperson battled the league's Player of the Year Callan Smith to a third set at No. 1 singles before claiming a 6-3 victory in the deciding frame to bring the two teams even.

All-league representative Tiffany McLoughlin, meanwhile, countered Lubica Nadasska in the deciding No. 2 singles match, battling her to a third set and going up 3-0 in the final frame, but Nadasska reeled off six-straight game victories to clinch the final point in favor of UIC.

The Bulldogs were put in a 1-0 hole after dropping the first two doubles matches, but rallied back thanks to quick singles wins by Becky Jenkins and Chelsey Casperson. Jenkins topped Christina Oum at No. 4 with back-to-back 6-3 wins, while Casperson added a 6-2, 6-4 triumph at No. 5 to bring the Bulldogs to within one point and set up the battle for the top two singles spots.

Butler finishes the season with a 13-14 record.

UIC 4, Butler 3
Singles
No 1. Molly Casperson def. Callan Smith 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
No 2. Lubica Nadasska def. Tiffany McLoughlin 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
No 3. Grace Gill Morlis def. Michelle Hawes 6-2, 6-1
No 4. Becky Jenkins def. Christina Oum 6-3, 6-3
No 5. Chelsey Casperson def. Jenna Reisch 6-2, 6-4
No 6. Amy Jellish def. Carrie Rachon 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
No 1. Smith/Gill-Morlis (UIC) def. McLoughlin/Hawes 8-1
No 2. M. Casperson/Jenkins (BU) & Nadasska/Von Ubisch DNF
No 3. Oum/Reisch (UIC) def. C. Casperson/Rachon 8-2