Feb. 23, 2008
DALLAS (SMU)--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."
The Mustangs are back in action Sunday, as they face Texas A&M Corpus Christi at the Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas (maps, directions) at 11am. For the complete schedule and results, log on to SMUMustangs.com.
SMU 7, Houston 0
Singles
1. #73 Natalia Bubien (SMU) def. Lucy Forward (HOU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Kseniia Tokarieva (SMU) def. Leila Salek (HOU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Pavi Francis (SMU) def. Neila Starratt (HOU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Kristen Reid (SMU) def. Lynley Wasson (HOU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Jessica Yanoff (SMU) def. Joanna Kacprzyk (HOU) def. 6-1, 6-2
6. Nicole Briceno (SMU) vs. Vicki Simpson (HOU) 3-6, 6-2, 10-6
Doubles
1. Bubien/Francis (SMU) def. Forward/McCombs (HOU) 8-4
2. #38 Briceno/Tokarieva (SMU) def. Wasson/Kacprzyk (HOU) 8-3
3. Reid/Yanoff (SMU) def. Salek/Simpson (HOU) 8-4
