Wake Forest University
NCAA Singles Tournament
Guerin Falls in Three Sets in NCAA Singles Opener
5/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
TULSA, Okla. – Wake Forest women's tennis junior Kimmy Guerin fell in a marathon three-set match to Duke's Kaitlyn McCarthy in the first round of the NCAA Women's Division I Tennis Singles Tournament at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. on Wednesday.
The 64th-ranked Guerin and 55th-ranked McCarthy went back and forth in a contest that went to tiebreakers in all three sets. The final score was 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (7).
A Second Team All-ACC selection, Guerin finished the year with a 21-18 singles record that included a 15-11 mark at the No. 1 position in dual-match play and an 8-12 ledger against ranked opponents.
Neither player could get in front by more than one game in a first set that featured six service breaks. In the tiebreaker, Guerin built a 4-1 lead, but McCarthy reeled off five-straight points before claiming a 7-5 win.
In the second frame, McCarthy won four games in a row to cancel out a 5-2 deficit, but Guerin forced another tiebreaker by holding serve in the 12th game. In the breaker, Guerin let go of a 5-3 advantage, but extended the match by claiming the next two points for a 7-5 victory.
McCarthy raced out to a 4-2 lead in the final stanza only to have Guerin fight back and go hold-break-hold to gain a 5-4 edge. After falling behind again by a score of 6-5, the third-year Demon Deacon out of Weston, Conn. used her fourth break of the set to knot the score at six. In the tiebreaker, Guerin took a 6-3 lead, but was not able to close McCarthy out as the Blue Devil freshman seized four points in a row en route to a 9-7 triumph.
Guerin was the first Demon Deacon to qualify for the national singles tournament since Martina Pavelec in 2011. Kayla Duncan and Kathryn Talbert also reached the second round of the national doubles tournament that season.
Wake Forest's team season ended with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to No. 40 Baylor on May 13 in Athens, Ga. The Deacs finished 19-10, racking up their highest win total since 2002 and reaching the national tournament for the first time since 2009.
Players Mentioned
