Women's tennis upset bid falls short

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Upset Bid Falls Short In 5-2 Loss At No. 24 UC Irvine
Mustangs Fall In Three Sets In A Pair Of Singles Matches

March 10, 2013

IRVINE, Calif. (SMU) --- The SMU women's tennis team fell 5-2 at No. 24 UC Irvine on Sunday. The Mustangs (7-5) were looking for back-to-back wins against ITA Top-25 teams after defeating No. 22 Tulsa 4-3 on Friday. In today's match, the Mustangs were within 3-2 before falling in the third set at No. 4 and No. 3 singles.

"We had a slow start in doubles, but rebounded well in singles to take early leads," said head coach Kati Gyulai. "Unfortunately we didn't play well with the lead and were unable to close the matches out."

UC Irvine (10-3) started with a 3-0 lead, taking the doubles point and matches at No. 6 and No. 1 singles. SMU then rallied with wins by Hristina Dishkova at No. 5 singles and Aleksandra Malyarchikova at No. 2 singles.

The two remaining matches had split the first two sets. At No. 4 singles, SMU's Elena Fayner won 7-5 in the second set against Sarah Gong. The Anteaters clinched the win as Gong eventually won 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. At No. 3, Vaszilisza Bulgakova eventually fell short in a tiebreaker 6-7, 7-5, 11-9 against Franziska Goettschin.

The Mustangs are at UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday and Santa Clara on Wednesday.

Tennis Match Results
SMU vs UC Irvine
Mar 10, 2013 at Irvine, Calif.

#24 UC Irvine 5, SMU 2

Singles competition
1. #125 Kristina Smith (UCI) def. #98 Edyta Cieplucha (SMU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Aleks Malyarchikova (SMU) def. Marivick Mamiit (UCI) 7-5, 6-0
3. Franziska Goettschin (UCI) def. Vaszilisza Bulgakova (SMU) 6-7, 7-5, 11-9
4. Sarah Gong (UCI) def. Elena Fayner (SMU) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
5. Hristina Dishkova (SMU) def. Ali Facey (UCI) 6-1, 7-6
6. Sarah Stadfelt (UCI) def. Holly Verner (SMU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. #49 Franziska Goettschin/Kristina Smith (UCI) def. Vaszilisza Bulgakova/Aleks Malyarchikova (SMU) 8-5
2. Marivick Mamiit/Sarah Stadfelt (UCI) def. Hristina Dishkova/Holly Verner (SMU) 8-3
3. Ali Facey/Brooke Schweyer (UCI) def. Edyta Cieplucha/Yana Erkeeva (SMU) 8-4

Match Notes:
SMU 7-5
UC Irvine 10-3; National ranking #24
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,1,5,2,4,3)

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

We beat #63 UCSB 4-1 today!

http://ucsbgauchos.com/sports/w-tennis/2012-13/releases/20130312adl7wt

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.- The Gauchos had a tough match today against Southern Methodist University, ending up taking a 4-1 loss.

The Gauchos faced SMU this afternoon, knowing the Mustangs were ready to fight for the win. The women had a tough time keeping up, and finished with a 4-1 loss.

"SMU played well and really do deserve this win. We will play better Friday." Coach Thibodeau comments on the tough match.

The Mustangs took two of the three doubles matches this afternoon, suspending the third doubles match as the outcome was already determined.

With a doubles win on SMU's side, the Mustangs only needed three singles matches to clench the match.

Paola Cos and Kiersten Meehan both has tough fights, but eventually fell to their opponents leaving the score 0-3.

Erica Cano was next off the court, luckily able to bring the Gauchos a singles win of 6-3, 6-2.

"I think I played pretty well, my game was working pretty well for me in singles today. But I think we need to come out with more energy and more of a do-or-die attitude om doubles and hopefully that mentality and energy will translate into singles too." Cano says of the match.

The Mustangs took their fourth and final win at number four singles, finalizing the score of 4-1. The last two matches that were on the court were halted as UCSB led at number five singles 7-5, 2-0, and SMU led at number one singles 6-4, 5-0.

The women are set to play George Washington this Friday, March 15th at 2:00pm.

SINGLES:

1. 1. Aleksandra Malyarchikova (SMU) vs. April Scatliffe (UCSB): 6-4, 5-0
2. 2. Edyta Cieplucha (SMU) def. Kiersten Meehan (UCSB): 6-2, 6-2
3. 3. Vaszilisza Bulgakova (SMU) def. Paola Cos (UCSB): 6-2, 6-1
4. 4. Elena Fayner (SMU) def. Priscila Garcia (UCSB): 6-3, 6-2
5. 5. Stacy Yam (UCSB) vs. Hristina Dishkova (SMU): 7-5, 2-0
6. 6. Erica Cano (UCSB) def. Yana Erkeeva (SMU): 6-3, 6-2

DOUBLES:

1. 1. Aleksandra Malyarchikova/ Vaszilisza Bulgakova (SMU) def. Priscila Garcia/ Erica Cano (UCSB): 8-3
2. 2. Holly Verner/ Hristina Dishkova (SMU) def. April Scatliffe/ Kiersten Meehan (UCSB): 8-3
3. 3. Paola Cos/Stacy Yam (UCSB) vs. 2. Edyta Cieplucha/ Yana Erkeeva (SMU): Unfinished

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

SMU is ranked #48 this week!

We play Santa Clara tonight. Go Ponies!

http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/w-tennis/recaps/031313aaa.html

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (SMU) --- The No. 48 SMU women's tennis team moved into the ITA rankings on Tuesday and followed it with a 4-1 victory at No. 63 UC Santa Barbara. The Mustangs (8-5) won the doubles point and three singles points en route to the win.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

We beat Santa Clara 5-2. It turned out to be a great California road trip!

http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/w-tennis/recaps/031413aaa.html

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (SMU) --- The No. 48 SMU women's tennis team earned a hard-fought 5-2 win at Santa Clara on Wednesday. The Mustangs (9-5) won the doubles point with a pair of 9-8 victories before taking clinching the match with a pair of three-set wins in singles.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

SMU beat Columbia 4-3 Thursday! UNLV and Marshall (both in Las Vegas) this weekend.

http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/w-tennis/recaps/032213aaa.html

The No. 50 SMU women's tennis team edged No. 61 Columbia 4-3 on Thursday. After the Mustangs (10-5) won the doubles point, No. 111 Aleksandra Malyarchikova led off singles with an SMU win against No. 61 Nicole Bartnik.

"We played disciplined in difficult outdoor conditions," said head coach Kati Gyulai. "Our fundamentals were good in doubles which translated to a 1-0 lead. This is a great win for us over a very good team. Great fight from both programs."