EL PASO, Texas – It wasn’t always pretty, but for the Tulane University women’s tennis team, the result sure was sweet as the Green Wave posted a regular-season sweep of Conference USA foe UTEP with a 4-3 win Sunday afternoon at the El Paso Tennis Club.
Nearly one month ago, the Green Wave turned their season around with a 5-2 win over the Miners in the opening match of the Inaugural Islander Invitational on March 27 in Corpus Christi. The result was a bit closer this time around and with the win, Tulane improved to 10-10 on the year and 2-4 in C-USA play. UTEP, meanwhile, fell to 13-6 in 2009 and 0-2 in league action.
“I told the girls beforehand that (UTEP was) not going to roll over since we defeated them a month ago,” Tulane head women’s tennis coach Terri Sisk said. “However, it was a great collegiate environment with all the UTEP fans there and I really give my girls credit that they didn't succumb to the external factors.
“Our singles play could have been much better. In several spots, we didn’t adjust and try different things. We did a better job yesterday (at New Mexico State) controlling the rally early. When you are playing a team that really wants a revenge win, you had better be offensive quickly or you end up chasing balls and playing defense.”
For the second consecutive day, the Green Wave established control of the match early by taking the doubles point, 2-1. The Tulane tandem of Marcela Fonseca and Jessica Lange snapped a five-match skid by posting a 9-7 win over UTEP’s Marina DeLuca and Vicky Michaud on Court 3 and the Green Wave duo of Mariam Kurdadze and Lindsay Dvorak rallied late to down the Miners’ Carolina DeLuca and Martina Trieweiler, 9-8 (7-5) on Court 2.
UTEP did mange one win in doubles play, however, as Weronika Bloczynska and Megan Pritchard combined to defeat Anna Bartenstein and Elizabeth Hamlin on Court 1, 8-4, but the point had already been secured.
The two teams split the singles matches 3-3, and the Green Waves hard-fought doubles point proved to be the difference in the contest.
Bartensteain posted a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Bloczynska on Court 1, and Kurdadze snapped a two-match singles skid with a 7-6 (10-8), 6-1 win over Trieweiler on Court 2 to improve her singles record to 16-5. Hamlin, meanwhile, defeated Ximena Furentes on Court 6, 6-2, 6-1, to secure the Tulane victory.
The DeLuca sisters both posted singles victories to spearhead the UTEP attack as Carolina defeated Dvorak on Court 3, 6-1, 6-2, while Marina earned a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Caroline Gerber on Court 4. Pritchard accounted for the Miner’s final point with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Fonseca on Court 5.
“Today was way too close for comfort,” Sisk said. “I thought we did a good job in doubles securing the 1-0 lead which in turn helped us to the victory. I have to give credit to UTEP today. They came out fighting and didn’t go down quietly.
“This was a great weekend for us. Winning two tough 4-3 battles does a lot for this young team's confidence. I am starting to see the little changes we discuss daily really begin to make a difference, especially in tie-break situations. With that being said, it only reiterates that they are continuing to learn and will continue to improve immensely.”
The Green Wave return to action next weekend when they travel to Kansas to take on the Kansas Jayhawks and the UMKC Kangaroos on April 10 and 11, respectively. From there, Tulane returns home to the Goldring Tennis Center for a C-USA match against Memphis on Tuesday, April 14, in what will be the team’s final home match. First serve for that match is slated for 9 a.m. and admission is free.
TULANE (10-10, 2-4 C-USA) DEFEATS UTEP (13-6, 0-2 C-USA), 4-3
SINGLES
No. 1 – Anna Bartenstein (TLN) def. Weronika Bloczynska (UTEP) – 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 – Mariam Kurdadze (TLN) def. Martina Trieweiler (UTEP) – 7-6 (10-8), 6-1
No. 3 – Carolina DeLuca (UTEP) def. Lindsay Dvorak (TLN) – 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 – Marina DeLuca (UTEP) def. Caroline Gerber (TLN) – 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 – Megan Pritchard (UTEP) def. Marcela Fonseca (TLN) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 – Elizabeth Hamlin (TLN) def. Ximena Fuentes (UTEP) – 6-2, 6-1
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Bloczynska/Pritchard (UTEP) def. Bartenstein/Hamlin (TLN) – 8-4
No. 2 – Kurdadze/Dvorak (TLN) def. C. DeLuca/Trieweiler (UTEP) – 9-8 (7-5)
No. 3 – Fonseca/Jessica Lange (TLN) def. M. DeLuca/Vicky Michaud (UTEP) – 9-7
COACH SISK’S COMMENTS FOLLOWING SUNDAY’S 4-3 C-USA WIN AT UTEP
Overall thoughts on the Conference USA win over the Miners
“Today was way too close for comfort. I thought we did a good job in doubles securing the 1-0 lead which in turn helped us to the victory. I have to give credit to UTEP today. They came out fighting and didn’t go down quietly. I told the girls beforehand that they were not going to roll over since we defeated them a month ago. However, it was a great collegiate environment with all the UTEP fans there and I really give my girls credit that they didn't succumb to the external factors.”
On the team’s singles match performance
“Our singles play could have been much better. In several spots, we didn’t adjust and try different things. We did a better job yesterday (at New Mexico State) controlling the rally early. When you are playing a team that really wants a revenge win, you had better be offensive quickly or you end up chasing balls and playing defense.”
On what her team does in preparation for next weekend’s matches in Kansas
“We are going to regroup this week after a day off and go back to work on the little things that separate us from national prominence. Our next match is Kansas so we are going to work hard on and off the court and do our best to keep improving.”
On her feelings on the team’s performance all week long
“This was a great weekend for us. Winning two tough 4-3 battles does a lot for this young team's confidence. I am starting to see the little changes we discuss daily really begin to make a difference, especially in tie-break situations. With that being said, it only reiterates that they are continuing to learn and will continue to improve immensely.”
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