Thursday, February 14, 2008

Women’s tennis: TCU 6, UNT 1

By Pegasus News wire

TCU's take

The No. 36 TCU women's tennis team defeated North Texas by a score of 6-1 on Wednesday at the Waranch Tennis Complex in Denton, Texas. The win improved the Horned Frogs to 1-1 overall, while dropping the Mean Green to 3-4 on the season.

TCU swept through the doubles matches to take the early lead in the contest. At the No. 1 position, Nina Munch-Soegaard and Katariina Tuohimaa defeated the Mean Green duo of Amy Joubert and Madura Ranganathan by a score of 8-4. TCU's Anna Sydorska and Idunn Hertzberg downed Rachel Wilhelm and Catalina Cruz 8-3 at the No. 2 position, while Kewa Nichols and Maria Babanova completed the sweep with an 8-5 win over Narine Kazarova and Idalina Franca.

The Frogs won five of six singles matches on the afternoon, including three freshmen who earned their first collegiate victories.

Munch-Soegaard, ranked No. 66 nationally, outlasted Ranganathan at the top singles position by a score of 6-1, 5-7, 16-14. No. 80 Sydorska followed at the No. 2 spot with a 6-4, 6-0 defeat of Kazarova.

Three newcomers won at the bottom four positions for TCU, led by Tuohimaa, who knocked off Wilhelm in straight sets at No. 4 by a score of 6-3, 6-3. Hertzberg downed Franca at the No. 5 position with a 5-7, 6-4, 10-4 victory, and Babanova secured her first victory with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Joubert.

The Frogs will return to the courts on Saturday when they will play host to No. 28 Texas A&M at 12 p.m.

UNT's take

The North Texas tennis team was defeated, 6-1, by No. 36 Texas Christian University at the Waranch Tennis Complex on Wednesday night.

Catalina Cruz picked up North Texas’ (3-4) lone victory over TCU (1-1) in the first time the Horned Frogs have been to Denton since 1981. The sophomore improved to 4-3 on the year with a 6-3, 6-2 win over TCU’s Kewa Nichols.

“I am proud of the way our kids competed against a team with such a strong tradition,” said North Texas head coach Sujay Lama. “The score does not do this match justice, and shows that we are right there with some of the best teams in the country.”

Idalina Franca and Madura Ranganathan both went to tie break sets before falling. Ranganathan fell 6-1 in the first set and came back strong in the second set to win 7-5 over TCU’s No. 66 Nina Munch-Soegaard. The two fought hard through an intense tie breaker set that Munch-Soegaard won 16-14.

The Mean Green returns to action this Saturday against conference opponent UALR. The match starts at noon at the Waranch Tennis Complex.

Sources: TCU and UNT

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