UC Irvine Team Page
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- UC Irvine women's tennis earned its first NCAA Tournament victory with an arduous 4-2 victory Saturday afternoon on San Jose State (19-6) at Marks Stadium in Los Angeles.
Ali Facey's furious comeback ended UCI's drought even after dropping the first set, 6-4, and trailing 4-1 in the second set. Facey raced back with four consecutive points to eventually win the second set with a 7-0 tiebreaker.
In the third set, her and opponent Julianna Bacelar exchanged leads. Facey held match point multiple times with a 5-4 set lead, but Bacelar endured a lengthy deuce to tie the match back up at 5-5. Facey would get back in the rhythm and finally close out the match 7-5 in the third set to complete the four-hour, 30-minute match.
Ranked opponents Kristina Smith and Klaudia Boczova were also embroiled in their own battle alongside Facey and Bacelar. Smith gutted out the first set and Boczova rallied for the second set, and Boczova had the slight 6-5 edge when the match ended.
Marivick Mamiit had her own comeback rallying down 4-1 in the second set to win 6-4 and close out the third point for the Anteaters (23-4, 9-0).
Sarah Gong and Franziska Goettsching scored straight-set wins to erase an early deficit. The Spartans took the doubles point winning two of the three sets.
For Coach Edles and the 'Eaters, they reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. UCI's previous trips to the postseason in 2007 and 2010 ended in first-round defeats. UC Irvine will return to the court on Sunday, May 12th at 12:00 p.m. to take on USC at Marks Stadium in an NCAA second-round match.
#32 UC Irvine 4, #63 San Jose State 2
NCAA Tournament – First Round
Los Angeles, Calif. – Marks Stadium
DOUBLES
1. Goettsching/Smith (UCI) def. Leon Chao/Medlin (SJSU) – 8-4
2. Boczova/Willett (SJSU) def. A. Facey/Schweyer (UCI) – 8-1
3. Bacelar/Truong (SJSU) def. Mamiit/Schweyer (UCI) – 8-5
San Jose State wins the doubles point
SINGLES
1. #85 Kristina Smith (UCI) vs.#54 Klaudia Boczova (SJSU) – 7-5, 2-6, 5-6 (unf.)
2. Marivick Mamiit (UCI) def. Sabastiani Leon Chao (SJSU) – 6-2, 6-4
3. Franziska Goettsching (UCI) def. Chau Truong (SJSU) – 6-3, 6-3
4. Sarah Gong (UCI) def. Erica Medlin (SJSU) – 6-2, 6-2
5. Ali Facey (UCI) def. Julianna Bacelar (SJSU) – 4-6, 7-6 (0), 7-5
6. Jessica Willett (SJSU) def. Sarah Stadfelt (UCI) – 6-3, 2-6, 3-6
Order of finish: Doubles – 2, 1, 3 | Singles – 4, 3, 2, 6, 5
