Feb. 16, 2009
ARLINGTON, Texas (SMU)-SMU women's tennis (11-2) capped off a four-match weekend at the UTA Tennis Center on Sunday, February 15 with a shut out (7-0) against UT-Arlington, after dropping (5-2) their previous match on Saturday against Missouri.
The Mustangs were sharp in doubles, with junior Nicole Briceno and senior Kseniia Tokarieva teaming up to register their fourth consecutive win (8-6) over Mavricks Daiana Negreanu and Maria Romer to improve their record to 8-1.
Competing in singles competition, senior Natalia Bubien had a strong performance against No. 122 Monika Hadvigerova, battling it out for the win in three sets (6-2, 6-7, 10-7). Junior Pavi Francis followed Bubien's example in her own three-set duel, securing the victory after triple set tiebreakers (6-7, 7-5, 11-9).
Riding a four-match win streak, senior Monica Neveklovska claimed the win (4-6, 6-2, 6-4) over UTA's Katarina Micochova. Senior Kristen Reid, Tokarieva, and junior Casey Kennedy also recorded singles wins.
"The UTA match was a true testament to the character our team possesses. Although we were tired from the grueling schedule of the weekend, we were determined to redeem yesterday's loss to Missouri, proving how resilient we can be. This was the toughest 7-0 win we have ever had, and UTA provided challenging competition. It took guts to come out and perform the way we did, and I am proud of the team's response," said head coach Lauren Longbotham-Meisner.
In Saturday's loss (5-2) to Missouri, Mustang duo Briceno and Tokarieva earned a doubles win (8-3) over Tigers Sofia Ayala and Danielle Day, while Missouri claimed the doubles point with two victories.
Bubien and Neveklovksa provided some senior leadership in singles competition, earning the Mustangs two straight set wins, with Bubien handily defeating (6-0, 6-4) Mallory Weber and Neveklovska triumphing over Maureen Modesto (6-4, 6-2).
Ultimately, the Tigers pulled out the win to give SMU its second loss of the season. "This was a pretty devastating loss for us. We came out flat in doubles and it was just a bad day all around. Had we played to our potential, I think we could have come out with the win, especially with the matches being as close as they were," said Longbotham-Meisner.
The Mustangs return to Turpin Tennis Stadium on Friday for competition against No. 48 North Carolina State at 1:00 p.m.
Missouri 5, SMU 2
DoublesMera/Weber def. Bubien/Francis, 8-5Ritchie/Guggioli def. Reid/Neveklovska, 8-6Briceno/Tokarieva def. Ayala/Day, 8-3
SinglesBubien def. Mallory Weber - 6-0, 6-4Jessica Guggioli def. Francis - 6-4, 0-6, 6-4Jamie Mera def. Briceno - 7-6 (5), 6-4Danielle Day def. Reid - 2-6, 7-5, 6-3Kaitlyn Ritchie def. Tokarieva - 3-6, 6-3, 6-0Neveklovska def. Maureen Modesto - 6-4, 6-2
SMU 7, UT-Arlington 0
DoublesBubien/Francis def. K. Jagoroua/N. Matouicous, 8-5Tokarieva/Briceno def. D. Negreanu/M. Martinez, 8-6Reid/Neveklovska def. M. Hadvigerova/K. Mlcochova, 8-4
SinglesBubien def. No. 122 Monika Hadvigerova - 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), (10-7)Francis def. D. Negreanu - 6-7 (4), 7-5, (11-9)Reid def. K. Jagoroua - 6-2, 6-2Neveklovska def. Mlcochova - 4-6, 6-2, 6-4Tokarieva def. M. Martinez - 6-3, 6-4Kennedy def. N. Matouicous - 6-0, 6-2
