Feb. 18, 2010

Season Stats

Box Score at No. 23 TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas (SMU) - The No. 30 SMU women's tennis team swept No. 23 TCU 7-0 on Wednesday to improve to 10-1 on the season. The Mustangs won all three doubles matches to earn the point. SMU then earned straight-set singles wins from Edyta Cieplucha at No. 5 and Katerina Vankova at No. 3. No. 47 Marta Lesniak then clinched the match with a third-set victory at No. 1 singles.

We had good energy and focus for the entire match," says head coach Lauren Longbotham Meisner. "Once we had the doubles point, we became even more confident entering the singles. This is the way I knew we could play when we put this team together. We showed we can be very good. I think we made a statement tonight on just how good we really are and we mainly needed to prove that to ourselves. This is a huge confidence builder and we just want to take this win and keep improving with every match." "

In doubles, Aleksandra Malyarchikova and Vankova paired for the first time and won 8-3 at No. 1. Shahzoda Hatamove and Lesniak also made their debut as a tandem, scoring an 8-5 victory at No. 2. In the No. 3 spot, Cieplucha and Pavia Francis improved to 2-0 as a team by cruising to an 8-1 win.

"The doubles finally clicked," says Longbotham Meisner. "We put new teams together and it worked which we are thrilled about."

SMU entered singles with the 1-0 advantage. Cieplucha made it 2-0 SMU with the 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles. That was followed quickly by Vankova's 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 3 in her SMU debut for a 3-0 Mustang advantage.

"Edyta played very well. Her duo finished first in doubles, then she came back and quickly won her singles matchup. Katerina was making her debut for us and responded well in her first match."

SMU scored the clinching point at No. 1 singles as Lesniak won 6-1, 2-6, 6-1.

"Marta's third set was the best I have seen her play at SMU. She knew we needed the point and responded with a very focused and powerful set."

Malyarchikova, ranked No. 76, continued her match at No. 2 singles and rallied to win against No. 67 Kayla Duncan. Malyarchikova dropped the first set in a tiebreaker before the comeback, 6-7 (8), 6-3, 10-3.

"Sasha (Malyarchikova) is a fighter. She never gave up even though the team already had the win. She fights for every point no matter what the score and that showed in this match."

At the No. 4 singles matchup, Hatamova finished off a third-set win 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Francis made it a clean sweep when her opponent retired after the first set at No. 6.

Up next for the Mustangs is a pair of matches in Columbia, Mo. The first against Louisville on Feb. 27 followed by a matchup with Missouri on Feb. 28.

No. 30 SMU def. No. 23 TCU,

SINGLES
1. No. 47 Marta Lesniak (SMU) def. Nina Munch-Soegaard (TCU), 6-1, 2-6, 6-1
2. No. 76 Aleksandra Malyarchikova (SMU) def. No. 67 Kayla Duncan (TCU), 6-7 (8), 6-3, 10-3
3. Katerina Vankova (SMU) def. Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Shahzoda Hatamova (SMU) def. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
5. Edyta Cieplucha (SMU) def. Maria Babanova (TCU), 6-3, 6-0
6. Pavi Francis (SMU) def. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) 6-7 (3), retire (inj.)
Order of Finish, 5, 3, 1*, 2, 4, 6

DOUBLES
1. Malyarchikova/Vankova (SMU) def. Duncan/Munch-Soegaard (TCU) 8-3
2. Hatamova/Lesniak (SMU) def. Babanova/Tuohimaa (TCU), 8-5
3. Cieplucha/Francis (SMU) def. Hertzberg/Mastromarino (TCU), 8-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1*, 2