March 16, 2008
DALLAS (SMU)--The No. 71 SMU women's tennis team won the doubles point handily, but fell to defending Conference USA champion No. 62 Tulsa, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at the Garland Tennis Center. The Mustangs slide to 8-7 on the season with the loss while the Golden Hurricane improves to 13-4.
In doubles, Natalia Bubien and Pavi Francis dominated at No. 1, taking the match over Rebecca Row and Carla Zabaleta, 8-1. At No. 2, Nicole Briceno and Kristen Reid played through a closely-contested match to win the match over Thalia Diaz-Barriga and Marta Marcinkowska, 8-6.
In singles, Bubien started up 4-0 at No. 1, but was unable to hold on for the win, dropping to Alexandra Kichoutkin, 6-2, 6-4. At No. 2, Francis played a tight first set, but ultimately fell to Diaz-Barriga, 6-4, 6-1. Reid fought hard throughout her match at No. 4, narrowly losing to Agostina Santoro, 6-4, 6-4.
At No. 3, Briceno picked up the Mustangs' only singles win, defeating Row in three sets. Row took the first, 6-3, but Briceno bounced back to take the take the point, winning the next two sets, 6-2, 6-3.
"We corrected the sluggish start we had in the Louisville match by coming out for doubles with enthusiasm and a real sense of urgency," said head coach Lauren Longbotham-Meisner. "Not coincidentally, our doubles results were very positive. Unfortunately, we were not able carry our momentum into singles. Tulsa really turned it up and we were not able to match their intensity. Kristen played well and though she couldn't quite make it over the hump, the effort was certainly there. Nicole went three sets for the third match in a row, and I was very glad to see her hard work finally pay off today. Although the team score had been decided long before her match was over, she showed immense pride out there, fighting hard for every point. Tulsa is the C-USA defending champion. They are a very talented, very well-coached team that we have a great deal of respect for. That said, the difference between our two teams today was not Tulsa's superior talent, but rather Tulsa's superior effort and intensity in the singles. Knowing that, the burden falls on us. We have to find a way to put it all together, not just for the first hour of our matches, but for three, four, even five hours; whatever it takes."
The Mustangs are back in action next Monday, March 24, as they host No. 23 Notre Dame at 2pm. For the complete schedule and results, log on to SMUMustangs.com.
No. 62 Tulsa 5, No. 70 SMU 2
Doubles:
1. Bubien/Francis (SMU) def. Row/Zabaleta (TLS) 8-1
2. Briceno/Reid (SMU) def. Diaz-Barriga/Marcinkowska (TLS) 8-6
3. Not played, defaulted
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Singles:
1. Alexandra Kichoutkin (TLS) def. Natalia Bubien (SMU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Thalia Diaz-Barriga (TLS) def. Pavi Francis (SMU) 6-4, 6-1
3. Nicole Briceno (SMU) def. Rebecca Row (TLS) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. Agostina Santoro (TLS) def. Kristen Reid (SMU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Not played, defaulted
6. Not played, defaulted
Order of finish: 1,2,4,3
