TCU
New Mexico
Frogs stay perfect in MWC play
4/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 13, 2006
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The 20th-ranked TCU women's tennis team moved one step closer to the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with a 5-2 victory over 48th-ranked New Mexico on Thursday at the UNM Tennis Center. The No. 26 doubles tandem of senior Helena Besovic and junior Ana Cetnik paired at court No. 1 for a convincing 8-3 victory over the No. 3 doubles team of Iva Gersic and Maja Kovacek. For Besovic and Cetnik, it was the second top-three opponent they have defeated as the pair took down the second-ranked doubles team of Melissa Anderson and Elsa O'Riain of Harvard on March 18.
"It was a good road win for us today," stated TCU head coach Dave Borelli. "New Mexico played extremely well in the altitude. It was more prevalent here than in BYU (Provo, Utah). We lost a couple of tough matches in singles. Doubles was a good effort, particularly since we were down 4-1 at No. 3 and we had to beat the third-ranked doubles team in the country to clinch the point."
Besovic and Cetnik are 7-2 since pairing for the win over the second-ranked team from Harvard on March 18 and the duo is undefeated in Mountain West Conference action.
After falling behind 4-1, the sophomore tandem of Nicole Leimbach and Kewa Nichols rattled off seven-straight games to take an 8-4 victory and clinch the doubles point for the Frogs.
Cetnik, ranked 119th in singles play, stretched the Horned Frog lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 4. The Belgrade, Serbia, product is currently on a six-match win streak.
Senior Gloriann Lopez moved TCU within one point of the victory with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph at No. 6 over Mackenzie White.
New Mexico cut into the Frogs' lead after Ola Abou-Zekry defeated Nichols 6-4, 6-1 at No. 5.
83rd-ranked Anna Sydorska won her eighth-straight match and clinched the victory for TCU with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph at No. 4 over
Besovic, ranked 33rd in singles, pushed her spring record to 17-3 with a 4-6, 6-4, (10-2) win over 92nd-ranked Iva Gersic at No. 2. Since dropping a tough three-set decision to 11th-ranked Zuzana Cerna of Baylor on Feb. 27, Besovic has recorded 13-straight wins and knocked off seven ranked opponents along the way.
"We still have two tough matches ahead of us," Borelli continued. "We are handling it well and we just have to continue playing strong."
The Frogs improved to 15-6 overall and 6-0 in MWC play with the win. TCU will take on No. 53 UNLV on Friday morning at 10 (CST) in its second of three matches at the UNM Tennis Center.
No. 20 TCU def. No. 48 New Mexico, 5-2
Singles
1. No. 39 Maja Kovacek (UNM) def. No. 12 Nicole Leimbach 1-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. No. 33 Helena Besovic (TCU) def. No. 92 Iva Gersic (UNM) 4-6, 6-4, (10-2)
3. No. 82 Anna Sydorska (TCU) def. Nora Quintal (UNM) 6-3, 6-4
4. No. 119 Ana Cetnik (TCU) def. Lucy Scott (UNM) 6-3, 6-2
5. Ola Abou-Zekry (UNM) def. Kewa Nichols (TCU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Gloriann Lopez (TCU) def. Mackenzie White (UNM) 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 5, 3*, 2, 1
Doubles
1. No. 26 Besovic/Cetnik (TCU) def. No. 3 Gersic/Kovacek (UNM) 8-3
2. Scott/Zekry (UNM) def. Morgado/Sydorska (TCU) 8-4
3. Leimbach/Nichols (TCU) def. Quintal/Ryba (UNM) 8-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3*, 2
* Indicates clinching point
Players Mentioned
