Sept. 18, 2006

DALLAS (SMU) - The women's tennis team put up an impressive performance this past weekend at the Baylor Fall Invitational. A combination of three newcomers and three veteran Mustangs were in the mix of 96 other participants from Abilene Christian, Baylor, Lamar, Lee College, Louisville, Oklahoma, Rice, Sam Houston State, TCU, UT-Arlington, Texas Tech, Tulsa and Wyoming. The tournament consisted of three singles draws, gold, green, and white, and two doubles draws.

"This was a chance for us to see where we are now and then allow us to focus on where we want to be," said head coach Lauren Longbotham. "They worked really hard and I'm very proud of how they played and am encouraged about where we need to go and how to get there. I was very impressed with the freshmen and their performances and feel like they will be able to make an immediate impact for the team. We had some of the best results this weekend as we have had at the Baylor Invite in a while, so I am very pleased with the outcome."

After receiving a bye in the first round, No. 4 seed Claire Rietsch defeated Kalei Gora of Lee, 6-4, 6-1, in the Round of 16. She advanced to take on Lakann Wagley of Texas Tech, never letting Wagley get her momentum started for a, 6-1, 6-4, win. In the semifinals, she took on Aina Rafolomanantsiatosika of ACU winning, 6-2, 6-4. She defeated the No. 3 seed, Tiffany Lee of Rice, 6-3, 6-2, for the Green Draw Singles Championship Title. Lee played the No. 2 and 3 positions in the Owl's line-up last season; Rietsch is a freshman for the Mustangs.

"She played outstanding," Longbotham said. "She didn't let up and played very strong. She was very determined to play well."

Sophomore Monica Neveklovska showed great improvement from last season as she earned the No. 1 seed in the White Draw. She received a bye in the first round and the defeated Amy Senko of Wyoming, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, in the Round of 16. Advancing to the quarterfinals, she toppled Maria Guiterrez of Lamar, 7-5, 6-4, and she faced Brittany Baldy of Oklahoma in the semifinals, winning, 6-3, 6-2. She battled with Conference USA foe, No. 2 Thalia Diaz-Barriga from Tulsa in the finals. Both players put up a long hard fight, but Neveklovska fell, 7-6, 7-5.

"Monica (Neveklovska ) is the most improved player from last season," Longbotham said. "She really understands her game right now and is putting points together well. She deserves it because she worked really hard over the summer to advance her game."

Hillary Collins also provided a strong performance for the Mustangs as a freshman. She defeated Brooke Mills of SHSU, 6-3, 6-4, in the Round of 32 but then fell to Santie Delport of Tulsa, 6-2, 6-3. Delport played in the middle of the line-up for Tulsa last season.

Natalia Bubien participated in the Gold Draw, first matching up with Christine Dao of Rice. These two meet last season at the Conference USA Tournament as Dao walked away with the win. The tables turned this season as Bubien dominated Dao for the, 6-2, 6-4, win. In the Round of 16, she beat Karine Ionesco of TCU, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the Quarterfinals but she fell to No. 2 seed and top 20 singles player, Zuzana Cerna of Baylor, 6-4, 6-1.

In doubles action, the tandem of Collins and Neveklovska competed in the White Draw, battling to the very end. They routed Elisa Leeder and Paige Robinson of Lee, 8-3, in the Round of 16 and edged Jo-Ann Van Aerde and Natalia Baez of Louisville, 8-2, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the duo took on the No. 2 seed of the bracket, Anne Sophie Fankam and Brenna Jackson of Texas Tech, taking the, 8-5, win from them to advance to the finals. Fighting to the end, they fell to Tanya Roberts and Kaltrina Harbuzi of Lamar, 9-7.

"The doubles played outstanding," Longbotham said. "They all played really well throughout the tournament. Hillary (Collins) played steady with ground strokes and Monica (Neveklovska) was a monster at the net."

Next up for the Mustangs is the North Texas Invitational this weekend with play starting on Friday and concluding on Sunday.

Results:
Doubles
Gold Draw - Round of 16
#4 Klara Zrustova and Zuzana Chmelarova (BU) def. Pavi Francis and Kristen Reid (SMU), 8-3
Natalia Bubien and Claire Rietsch (SMU) def. Kewa Nichols and Karine Ionesco (TCU), 8-5
Gold Draw - Quarterfinals
#2 Zuzana Cerna and Lenka Broosova (BU) def. Natalia Bubien and Claire Rietsch (SMU), 8-5
Gold Draw Consolation - Quarterfinals
Irina Sotnikova and Lata Assudani (SHSU) def. Pavi Francis and Kristen Reid (SMU), 8-6
White Draw - Round of 16
Monica Neveklovska and Hillary Collins (SMU) def. Elisa Leeder and Paige Robinson (Lee), 8-3
White Draw - Quarterfinals
Monica Neveklovska and Hillary Collins (SMU) def. Jo-Ann Van Aerde and Natalia Baez (Louisville), 8-2
White Draw - Semifinals
Monica Neveklovska and Hillary Collins (SMU) def. #2 Anne Sophie Fankam and Brenna Jackson (TT), 8-5
White Draw - Final
Tanya Roberts and Kaltrina Harbuzi (Lamar) def. Monica Neveklovska and Hillary Collins (SMU), 9-7

Singles
Gold Draw - Round of 32
Lenka Broosova (BU) def. Pavi Francis (SMU), 7-6 (5), 6-3
#7 Natalia Bubien (SMU) def. Christine Dao (Rice), 6-2, 6-4
Gold Draw - Round of 16
#7 Natalia Bubien (SMU) def. Karine Ionesco (TCU), 6-2, 6-1
Gold Draw - Quarterfinals
#2 Zuzana Cerna (BU) def. #7 Natalia Bubien (SMU), 6-4, 6-1
Gold Draw Consolation - Round of 16
Julie Chao (Rice) def. Pavi Francis (SMU), 7-5, 6-2
Green Draw - Round of 32
Hillary Collins (SMU) def. Brooke Mills (SHSU), 6-3, 6-4
#4 Claire Rietsch (SMU) - BYE
Green Draw - Round of 16
Santie Delport (Tulsa) def. Hillary Collins (SMU), 6-2, 6-3
#4 Claire Rietsch (SMU) def. Kalei Gora (Lee), 6-4, 6-1
Bianca Gorbea (Louisville) def. Kristen Reid (SMU), 6-3, 6-1
Green Draw - Quarterfinals
#4 Claire Rietsch (SMU) def. Lakann Wagley (TT), 6-1, 6-4
Green Draw - Semifinals
#4 Claire Rietsch (SMU) def. Aina Rafolomanantsiatosika (ACU), 6-2, 6-4
Green Draw - Final
#4 Claire Rietsch (SMU) def. #3 Tiffany Lee (Rice), 6-3, 6-2
Green Draw Consolation - Round of 16
Kristen Reid (SMU) def. Ashley Longoria (SHSU), 6-0, 6-1
Gold Draw Consolation - Quarterfinals
Pamela Martinez (Lamar) def. Kristen Reid (SMU), 6-2, 6-2
White Draw - Round of 32
#1 Monica Neveklovska (SMU) - BYE
White Draw - Round of 16
#1 Monica Neveklovska (SMU) def. Amy Senko (Wyoming), 6-7, 6-2, 6-2
White Draw - Quarterfinals
#1 Monica Neveklovska (SMU) def. Maria Guiterrez (Lamar), 7-5, 6-4
White Draw - Semifinals
#1 Monica Neveklovska (SMU) def. Brittany Baldy (OU), 6-3, 6-2
White Draw - Final
#2 Thalia Diaz-Barriga (Tulsa) def. #1 Monica Neveklovska (SMU), 7-6, 7-5

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