Monday, February 25, 2008

SMU women’s tennis sweeps matches over Houston, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

By Pegasus News wire

SMU 7, Houston 0

The No. 60 SMU women's tennis team kicked off Conference USA play Saturday by trouncing in-state rival Houston, 7-0. The Mustangs move to 7-2 on the season with the win, while the Cougars drop to 6-5.

SMU kicked off the match by winning all three doubles matches. Nicole Briceno and Kseniia Tokarieva, ranked 38th nationally, picked up a strong win at No. 2, taking Lucy Forward and Jordan McCombs, 8-3. Kristen Reid and Jessica Yanoff, playing at No. 3, started off slowly, falling behind Leila Salek and Vicky Simpson, 4-3. But Reid/Yanoff heated up and overcame the deficit to win, 8-4. Natalia Bubien and Pavi Francis, pairing at No. 1, befell a similar fate, falling behind early, 4-3, before pulling out a victory, 8-4.

In singles, Tokarieva dominated at No. 2, beating Salek, 6-1, 6-3, giving the Mustangs their first point. Yanoff played next at No. 5, taking a quick, straight-sets win over Joanna Kacprzyk, 6-1, 6-2. Playing in the first slot, No. 73 Natalia Bubien clinched the match for SMU, with a straight-set win over Forward, 6-4, 6-2.

Francis followed Bubien with a straight-set win of her own, defeating Neila Starratt, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3. At No. 4, Reid fell behind early in the first set, but rallied back to beat Wasson, 6-4, 6-1. Briceno wrapped things up for the Mustangs, in what was the closest match of the day. Playing at No. 6, Briceno fell behind early, dropping the first set to Simpson, 6-3. But Briceno regrouped and rallied back to win 6-2 in the second set and 10-6 in the super tiebreaker, taking the final point for the Mustangs.

"Houston is a tough conference rival, and they always come ready to play," said head coach Lauren Longbotham-Meisner. "The match was much closer than the score would indicate and Houston fought hard all the way to the end. Our best tennis of the season is yet to come, but I'm proud of the team for doing what they had to do today to win their matches."

SMU 5, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0

The No. 60 women's tennis team picked up its second win in as many days, beating Texas A&M Corpus Christi Sunday, 5-0. The Mustangs improve to 8-2 this season, while the Islanders slide to 1-2.

The Mustangs started off strong, kicking off the afternoon with a win in doubles. Natalia Bubien paired with Pavi Francis at No. 1, defeating Carmen Abeaboeru and Nina Ciric in relatively quick fashion, 8-2. At No. 2, the 38th-ranked pair of Kseniia Tokarieva and Nicole Briceno beat Erika Iriarte and Alexandra Dyckman, 8-2, clinching the doubles point for SMU. In the third doubles match, Kristen Reid paired with Jessica Yanoff to battle to a 8-4 win over Megan Harless and Alexandra Valarezo.

In singles, Francis played with workman-like efficiency at No. 2, defeating Abeaboeru quickly in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. Tokarieva dismantled Iriarte at No. 3, systematically taking her down in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. At No. 5, Briceno took down Valrezo in a hard-fought straight-set victory, 6-2, 6-1. Bubien clinched the final point for SMU in a tough match at No. 1. Number 73 Bubien started by taking a quick 6-1 victory in the first set. The second set, however, was closer, with Ciric fighting to a 3-2 deficit. Bubien kept battling, but had a tough time securing match-point. Finally, she was able to put the match away, 6-3.

"We came out with more energy and focus than we had yesterday," said head coach Lauren Longbotham-Meisner. "I am pleased with our efforts in both doubles and singles. We had better footwork today, and I think this win will help us carry some positive momentum into our match with TCU on Wednesday."

SMU is back in action Wednesday against crosstown rival TCU Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 6:00pm in Ft. Worth.

Source: SMU

See more stories in:

• Tennis > Women's College Tennis