TCU
NCAA Regionals
Frogs to make first-ever Sweet 16 appearance
5/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 13, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - On Saturday night at Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center with a spot in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on the line, the 16th-ranked TCU women's tennis team downed 18th-ranked Texas 4-0 setting up a showdown with host and top-ranked Stanford on Thursday at 8 p.m. (CST)
"I'm pretty overwhelmed," stated TCU head coach Dave Borelli. "I thought the kids, just as all season, performed and competed at their best which is the most important thing."
With the win today, the Frogs improved to 23-6 overall.
Saturday's victory was the first over the Longhorns since an April 2, 1991, match that saw the Horned Frogs prevail 5-4.
"This is a big win for the program", Borelli continued. "We have not defeated them since 1991 and we have not faced them in my four years here. I was excited and I believe this is a step forward that we can really build on.
Early in the match, TCU fell into a 1-0 deficit during doubles competition after the Longhorns' Petra Dizdar and Ristine Olson posted an 8-1 victory over sophomores Nicole Leimbach and Kewa Nichols.
Senior Helena Besovic and junior Ana Cetnik, currently ranked 14th in the ITA doubles poll, recorded an 8-4 win over Mia Marovic and Courtney Zauft at No. 1 to even the tally in doubles play.
Court No. 2 finished immediately following No. 1 with sophomore Andrea Morgado and freshman Anna Sydorska prevailing 8-5 to clinch the point for the Horned Frogs.
Besovic, ranked 27th, recorded her 19th-straight victory with a 6-1, 6-3 decision over Dizdar at No. 2 to push TCU to a 2-0 match advantage.
Leimbach grabbed her first tournament win by dispatching 77th-ranked Marovic 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1. Garnering the No. 17 ranking in the ITA singles poll, Leimbach holds a spring record of 17-6.
After falling behind one set, Nichols rebounded and took over court No. 5 to down Baritot 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 to clinch the match in dramatic fashion. For Nichols, the victory was her sixth straight and ninth in 10 tries.
"We are going to celebrate for the next couple of days, but then we are going to get back into our tennis shoes and prepare for the next week," Borelli closed. "I am really excited to play Stanford. Frankly, I think it would be a disappointment if we didn't play well and just let down after this big victory. That is most important, don't let down and build on this. We need to go in with the idea we can play with anyone."
No. 16 TCU def. No. 18 Texas, 4-0
Doubles
1. Helena Besovic/Ana Cetnik (TCU) def. Mia Marovic/Courtney Zauft (UT) 8-4
2. Andrea Morgado/Anna Sydorska (TCU) def. Kelly Baritot/Kendra Strohm (UT) 8-5
3. Petra Dizdar/Ristine Olson (UT) def. Nicole Leimbach/Kewa Nichols (TCU) 8-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. No. 17 Nicole Leimbach (TCU) def. No. 77 Mia Marovic (UT) 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 27 Helena Besovic (TCU) def. No. 104 Petra Dizdar (UT) 6-1, 8-3
3. No. 119 Anna Sydorska (TCU) vs. Kendra Strohm (UT) 6-4, 5-5 DNF
4. Ana Cetnik (TCU) vs. Courtney Zauft (UT) 5-7, 5-4 DNF
5. Kewa Nichols (TCU) def. Kelly Baritot (UT) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
6. Gloriann Lopez (TCU) vs. Ristine Olson (UT) 6-1, 4-6 DNF
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 5
Note: TCU scores listed first in DNF matches.
Players Mentioned
