The MMI Lady Tigers Claw Their Way to Three Wins, Lose in Stillman Invitational Final, 6-3

Tuscaloosa, AL—The Marion Military Institute Lady Tigers fought the good fight but came up short to the Stillman College Lady Tigers in the finals of the Stillman Invitational Tennis Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Stillman College Tennis Complex.  The Tigers won three well-played and hard-fought contests at No. 1 doubles, No. 1 singles, and No. 2 singles.

"Carlee Conway is undoubtedly one of the most competitive young ladies that I have had the pleasure of coaching at MMI," Coach Wright said.  "She usually finds a way to win.  In addition to her strong will to win, she is nearly unflappable in the direst of predicaments.  A lesser player would have lost her nerve going into the super-tiebreaker third set.  Not Carlee.  She is clutch."

After trouncing Viktoria Tzakova in the first set, 6-0, Conway lost focus in the second set and lost that set, 6-3.  The third-set super tiebreaker was for the whole ball of wax, so to speak.  And Conway pulled out the deciding third set in superlative fashion, 10-7.

Maria Cespedes also won the first set—but it was a close first set.  Cespedes took the tiebreaker, 7-4, to win the first set, 7-5.  In the second set, Nair Tolomeo rose to the occasion and closed out Cespedes, 7-5.  Cespedes then rebounded in the third-set super tiebreaker to take the match, 10-5.

In doubles play, the team of Conway and Cespedes again had to claw their way to victory.  Trailing 5-1 to Stillman's Maria Andreeva and Veronika Kulugina, the dynamic duo reeled off the last seven games of the match to win, 8-5.

The Lady Tigers return home to the friendly confines of the Paul B. Anderson Tennis Complex to take on the Lady Eagles of Meridian Community College in a 1:00 p.m. match on Tuesday, April 7.