TCU
No. 23 VCU
TCU Slips Against No. 23 VCU, 5-2
3/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 18, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU women's team dropped the final home non-conference match of the spring, falling to No. 23 VCU by a score of 5-2 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center Thursday afternoon.
"VCU dug in on all the courts in singles and just put more balls in overall than we did," TCU head coach Jefferson Hammond said. "If we want to get the results that we are capable of, we are going to need to redouble our efforts in practice, weight room and in matches. We are capable of doing much better than this and this is the type of team that we are going to see at the top of our conference. We've got to look forward to the opportunities ahead."
The Horned Frogs jumped on the scoreboard with impressive double play. Senior Nina Munch-Soegaard and junior Maria Babanova teamed up to earn TCU's first win, upending the No. 47 duo of Laura Burns and Kateryna Yergina. The Purple and White pairing jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but watched it dwindle to a 6-6 tie before taking the final two games to earn the 8-6 decision.
TCU clinched the doubles point with a victory from the top squad of junior Katariina Tuohimaa and sophomore Kayla Duncan. The Frogs' 58th-ranked tandem in the country also jumped out to a 4-1 advantage, but saw the Rams' creep to within one game at 5-4. Knowing that the doubles point was hanging in the balance, the TCU team stole the final two games to defeat VCU's pairing of Ana Bara and Josefin Hjertquist, 8-6.
The Rams evened the score with the beginning of singles play, as Burns turned in a 6-2, 6-3 win over TCU junior Idunn Hertzberg. VCU took a 2-1 advantage from the No. 3 position with Yergina earning a decisive 6-0, 6-4 victory over No. 100 Tuohimaa. After taking the first game of the second set, Tuohimaa lost control of the match and could never regain her lead.
From the sixth flight, TCU sophomore Gaby Mastromarino never had the lead in her 6-0, 6-4 loss to VCU's Olena Leonchuk. The Rams clinched the team win from the No. 5 position, as Alex Bara handed Babanova a 6-4, 6-0 defeat.
TCU's bright spot in singles came after the match had been clinched. No. 89 Munch-Soegaard tacked on another win to her season from the top court, defeating Hjertquist, 6-2, 6-4. The Amarillo, Texas native had to battle back to take the final three games in the second set to earn the victory.
TCU will now hit the road to take on Wichita State (March 26) and Notre Dame (March 27) in Wichita, Kan., before returning to the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center to host the opening weekend of Mountain West Conference action against Air Force, Wyoming and Colorado State, April 2-4.
No. 23 VCU (13-2) def. TCU (1-11), 5-2
SINGLES
1. No. 89 Nina Munch-Soegaard (TCU) def. Josefin Hjertquist (VCU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Ana Bara (VCU) def. No. 88 Kayla Duncan (TCU), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (7)
3. Kateryna Yergina (VCU) def. No. 100 Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU), 6-0, 6-4
4. Laura Burns (VCU) def. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU), 6-2, 6-3
5. Alex Bara (VCU) def. Maria Babanova (TCU), 6-4, 6-0
6. Olena Leonchuk (VCU) def. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU), 6-0, 6-4
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 6, 5*, 1, 2
DOUBLES
1. No. 58 Duncan/Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Ana Bara/Hjertquist (VCU), 8-6
2. Babanova/Munch-Seogaard (TCU) def. Burns/Yergina (VCU), 8-6
3. Alex Bara/Leonchuk (VCU) def. Hertzberg/Mastromarino (TCU), 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*
Players Mentioned
