ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - No. 29 TCU swept Colorado State by a score of 4-0 Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championships at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center.
"It was a nice battle with Colorado State today," TCU head coach Jefferson Hammond said. "They played a really nice match and we're excited to get out of the first round and move on to the next round."
The TCU duo of Macall Harkins and Anna Sydorska led off doubles play with an 8-2 victory over Laura Neal and Lauren Strasburger at the top position, while All-MWC doubles tandem Katariina Tuohimaa and Kayla Duncan teamed up to defeat Tori Arneson and Caitlin Fluegge at the No. 2 slot by a score of 8-6 to clinch the doubles point. Junior Nina Munch-Soegaard joined sophomore Maria Babanova and was up 7-2 in their match before the point was clinched.
Harkins began the scoring with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Neal at the No. 1 position. The all-MWC singles selection posted her fourth-straight win over a conference opponent, moving to 11-10 for the season.
Freshman Gaby Mastromarino, a Tequesta, Fla., native, followed with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Kirsten Stople at the No. 5 slot to put TCU up 3-0 in the match. Mastromarino fell into an early 3-0 hole to begin the opening set, but bounced back to push TCU within one win shy of heading into the MWC Championship semifinals.
Tuohimaa sealed the match for the Frogs with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Strasburger at the No. 2 position. The victory pushed the Helsinki, Finland product's overall singles record to 14-8 for the year, matching Duncan for the team lead in wins.
"Our season's goal all year has been to get to the finals," Tuohimaa said. "We have to take it one match at a time. Personally, the first match is always the toughest, because of the travel and adjustments. Getting this first win behind us and playing for a second day will help us to get in a groove and make us more confident.
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The No. 29-2nd seed Frogs will meet No. 67-3rd seed Utah in the semifinals Friday at 10 a.m. CDT. TCU defeated the Utes, 6-1, during the regular season in Fort Worth and hold a 9-0 advantage in the all-time series. A 2008 MWC semifinals rematch, the Frogs’ swept Utah, 4-0, in Fort Worth.
No. 29 TCU (14-10) 4, Colorado State (8-13)
SINGLES
1. Macall Harkins (TCU) def. Laura Neal (CSU), 6-0, 6-1
2. Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Lauren Strasburger (CSU), 6-2, 6-0
3. Kayla Duncan (AF) vs. Tori Arneson (CSU), 4-6, 5-4, unfinished
4. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) vs. Greer Satherlie (CSU), 2-6, 2-5, unfinished
5. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) def. Kirsten Stople (CSU), 6-3, 6-4
6. Maria Babanova (TCU) vs. Caitlin Fluegge (CSU), 7-5, 5-2, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 2*
DOUBLES
1. Harkins/Sydorska (TCU) def Neal/Strasburger (CSU) 8-2
2. Tuohimma/Duncan (TCU) def. Arneson/Fluegge (CSU) 8-6
3. Munch-Soegaard/Babanova (TCU) vs. Satherlie/Stople (TCU), 7-2, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2*