TCU
No. 29 San Diego State
TCU Topples Aztecs to Open MWC Play
3/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 27, 2009
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The No. 32 TCU women's tennis team got off to a good start in the Mountain West Conference with a 5-2 victory over No. 29 San Diego State at the Aztec Tennis Center Friday. The Horned Frogs snagged their opening league match while advancing to 7-8 for the season.
"This is a great start to the conference season," TCU head coach Jefferson Hammond said. "I couldn't be happier with the effort and the performance playing a team that's ranked in front of us on their home court. We'll have to earn every win and it's nice to have one under our belt. San Diego State has a really nice team it was a really competitive conference match today."
TCU took the doubles point to gain an early 1-0 advantage over the Aztecs. After sophomore Maria Babanova and freshman Gaby Mastromarino dropped the opening match at three doubles, the TCU senior squad of Macall Harkins and Anna Sydorska brought the doubles tally to a 1-1 tie after defeating SDSU's Kathryn Kitts and Holly Bagshaw, 8-5. Newcomer Kayla Duncan and sophomore Katariina Tuohimaa clinched the 1-0 advantage from the No. 2 position with a 9-7 victory over the Aztecs' twin tandem Roxanne and Sierra Ellison.
In singles action, Harkins picked up her second-consecutive win, defeating Julia Trunk in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4, to give TCU a 2-0 advantage. The Palos Verdes, Calif., native found herself down 3-1 early in the second frame, but battled back to knot the score at 3-3. After Trunk pushed the score to 4-3, Harkins stole the final three games to take the match.
Duncan brought the Frogs within one point from clinching the match with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Emma Cioffi from the No. 3 position. The victory snaps a four-match skid for the Winston-Salem, N.C., product, earning her first win since March 6 at Texas A&M.
Seconds later, sophomore Idunn Hertzberg solidified the match for TCU, knocking off Olivia Colman by the score of 6-4, 6-2 to claim her fourth-straight win.
With the match in hand, Mastromarino lost to SDSU's Esther Cadua by the score of 4-6, 6-4, 10-3, before Tuohimaa could capture a 6-2, 7-6 (6) win against Bagshaw. Babanova ended the evening with her a loss to Milana Yusupov in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
TCU will return action Saturday afternoon for a matinee match against UNLV at 1 p.m.
No. 32 TCU (7-8, 1-0) 5, No. 29 San Diego State (11-3, 0-1) 2
SINGLES
1. Macall Harkins (TCU) def. Julia Trunk (SDSU), 6-0, 6-4
2. Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Holly Bagshaw (SDSU), 6-2, 7-6 (6)
3. Kayla Duncan (TCU) def. Emma Cioffi (SDSU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Esther Cadua (SDSU) def. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU), 4-6, 6-4, 10-3
5. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) def. Olivia Colman (SDSU), 6-4, 6-2
6. Milana Yusupov (SDSU) def. Maria Babanova (TCU), 6-4, 7-6 (4)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5*, 4, 3, 6
DOUBLES
1. No. 21 Harkins/Sydorska (TCU) def. Kitts/Bagshaw (SDSU), 8-5
2. Duncan/Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Ellison/Ellison (SDSU), 9-7
3. Cadua/Cioffi (SDSU) def. Babanova/Mastromarino (TCU), 8-4
Order of Finish; 3, 1, 2*
Players Mentioned
