TCU
San Diego State
No. 73 Frogs Drop 4-3 Decision to SDSU
4/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 9, 2010
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The No. 73 TCU women's tennis team suffered a 4-3 loss to San Diego State Friday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. The loss snaps a four-match winning streak for the Horned Frogs and is the first in Mountain West Conference play this spring.
"I'm really proud of the way we fought today," TCU head coach Jefferson Hammond said. "Unfortunately, it did not go our way. We have to give San Diego State a lot of credit for the way they fought hard when they were down and they found a way to pull it out."
TCU got the ball rolling in doubles, taking the early 1-0 advantage in the team score. After falling on the middle court, junior Idunn Hertzberg and sophomore Gaby Mastromarino found themselves down on the brink of losing at 7-3 before saving three match points and taking the next six games to win, 9-7. At that point, the score was knotted at 6-6 on the top court and the Frogs' squad of sophomore Kayla Duncan and junior Katariina Tuohimaa dug down deep to win the match, 8-6.
Mastromarino jump-started the singles action by picking up her fourth-straight win from the No. 6 spot. The Tequesta, Fla., product earned a quick straight-set victory over Emma Cioffi, 6-2, 6-0, giving TCU a 2-0 lead in the team score.
After junior Maria Babanova dropped her match from the fifth flight, Tuohimaa picked the Frogs back up with a gutsy 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory from the No. 3 position. The Helsinki, Finland is now 4-0 against MWC competition this spring and she moved TCU one win away from clinching the match at 3-1.
Teetering on the edge of picking up the fourth league win of the year, the Purple and White started to unravel. No. 63 Munch-Soegaard played hard from the top court, only to suffer a tough 6-2, 7-5 defeat at the hands of No. 50 Julia Trunk. SDSU's Roxanne Ellison made matters worse by driving Hertzberg to a three-set loss at 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, moving the team score to a 3-3 tie.
Just as Ellison was finishing off Hertzberg, the final match between Duncan and the Aztecs' Alicia Aguilar had began the third set. Duncan started out behind 3-2 in the final frame, but pushed the deciding match into a tiebreaker. In the end, Aguilar proved to be too much for Duncan, clinching the win for SDSU with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory.
TCU (6-13, 3-1 MWC) will have to regroup and bounce back, as the Frogs' take on host No. 37 UNLV Saturday at Noon.
San Diego State 4, No. 73 TCU 3
Singles competition
1. No. 50 Julia Trunk (SDSU) def. No. 63 Nina Munch-Soegaard (TCU) 6-2, 7-5
2. Alicia Aguilar (SDSU) def. No. 90 Kayla Duncan (TCU) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2)
3. Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Julia Wais (SDSU) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
4. Roxanne Ellison (SDSU) def. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
5. Sierra Ellison (SDSU) def. Maria Babanova (TCU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) def. Emma Cioffi (SDSU) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 3, 1, 4, 2*
Doubles competition
1. No. 40 Duncan/Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Ellison/Ellison (SDSU) 8-6
2. Trunk/Wais (SDSU) def. Munch-Soegaard/Babanova (TCU) 8-4
3. Hertzberg/Mastromarino (TCU) def. Colman/Coiffi (SDSU) 9-7
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*
Players Mentioned
