Feb. 25, 2007
TULSA, Okla. (SMU) - The No. 45 SMU women's tennis team fell to Conference USA foe, No. 49 Tulsa this afternoon, 4-3, in a match that lasted nearly five hours. The Mustangs are 6-3 on the season and 0-1 in C-USA play as they return home to face Furman on Tuesday.
The Mustangs took the first step forward winning the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Natalia Bubien and Claire Rietsch paired at No. 1 as they demanded a, 8-1, win over Santie Delport and Marta Marcinkowska. The playing field leveled out when Jennifer Chay and Pavi Francis could not overturn Kindsay Grimes and Carla Zabaleta at No. 2 as they fell, 8-6. Kristen Reid and Monica Neveklovska clinched the doubles point for the Mustangs as they paired for a 8-5, win over #56 Thalia Diaz-Barriga and Jie Zeng at No. 3.
Georgiana Marta closed out her singles match first with a win for the Mustangs. At No. 5, Marta took a 6-2, 6-4, win over Jenna Webster. The match at No. 2 singles finished next as Chay was not able to get past Delport as she fell, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). Francis notched another win for the Mustangs as she took a, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), win over Diaz-Barriga at No. 4. Reid faced Agostina Santoro at No. 6 singles, but was not able to overturn Santoro as she fell, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. With two tie-breakers, Rietsch was not able to stop Zabaleta at No. 3 singles as she fell, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5). Grimes edged Bubien at No. 1 as the pair fought through three sets. Bubien fell, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
The Mustangs return home to face Furman on Tues., Feb. 27 at the Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas at 1:00 p.m.
Tennis Match ResultsSouthern Methodist vs Tulsa2/25/2007 at Tulsa, Okla.
#49 Tulsa 4, #45 Southern Methodist 3
Singles competition1. Kindsay Grimes (TULSA) def. Bubien, Natalia (SMU) 6-4, 5-7, 7-52. Santie Delport (TULSA) def. Chay, Jennifer (SMU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)3. Carla Zabaleta (TULSA) def. Rietsch, Claire (SMU) 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5)4. Francis, Pavi (SMU) def. Thalia Diaz-Barriga (TULSA) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2)5. Marta, Georgiana (SMU) def. Jenna Webster (TULSA) 6-2, 6-46. Agostina Santoro (TULSA) def. Reid, Kristen (SMU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Doubles competition1. Rietsch, Claire/Bubien, Natalia (SMU) def. Santie Delport/Marta Marcinkowska (TULSA) 8-12. Kindsay Grimes/Carla Zabaleta (TULSA) def. Chay, Jennifer/Francis, Pavi (SMU) 8-63. Reid, Kristen/Neveklovska, Monica (SMU) def. #56 Thalia Diaz-Barriga/Jie Zeng (TULSA) 8-5
Match Notes:Southern Methodist 6-3; National ranking #45Tulsa 11-1; National ranking #49Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,2,4,6,3,1)
