MOBILE, Ala. – Two days after having the match versus Georgia College rained out, the No. 6 West Florida women’s tennis team (12-3, 3-1 GSC) had to move its match against No. 14 UC-San Diego (11-3) to Mobile to avoid the rain in Pensacola on this Saturday. UWF defeated UC San Diego 6-3 to earn its second win over a ranked Division II opponent this season, as the Argonauts won all three doubles matches and split the singles action with the Tritons.
The match was first moved to the outdoor courts of the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center, where the doubles matches were played, and once again due to the rain, the match was later shifted to the indoor courts of the Mobile Civic Center.
In the doubles action, all three matches were much disputed, as the Argonauts had to comeback from serve breaks down in the second and third spots to blanks the Tritons. The West Florida squad got its first point at the number one doubles when No. 24 Suzana Cavalcante (senior/Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Paulina Ojeda (sophomore/Santiago, Chile) defeated Ina Dan and Taskeen Bains 8-5. No. 12 Renata Mattos (senior/Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Taylor Brewster (sophomore/Ontario, Canada) came back from a score of 5-2 down to defeated the Tritons’ third duo formed by Tessa Tran and Valeria Tang 8-6. Caitlyn Baines (freshman/Panama City Beach, Fla.) and Cammie Gray also bounced back from a 5-2 down to tie the match and push it to a tiebreak. The Argos’ second team managed to beat Nathalie Varnay and Anita Athavale in the tiebreak and give West Florida the 3-0 lead entering the singles play.
As the rain hit the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center, the matches were moved to the two indoor courts at the Mobile Civic Center. In singles, both teams were even, as the Argos and the Tritons won three matches each. The Argonauts won three matches in straight sets, while the Tritons won three matches in the third set super tiebreaker. Playing in the second singles spot, Argo Yana Bokareva (sophomore/Moscow, Russia) pushed No. 46 Dan to a third set super tiebreak. Bokareva fell 6-2, 2-6, 10-7 to give the Tritons its first team point. No. 15 Ojeda beat Varnay in straight sets in the first singles. The Chilean native dropped her opponent 6-4, 7-5 to get the Argonauts one point away from the team win. Playing in the fourth singles, Brewster fell 6-3, 6-4 to Athavale, setting the scoreboard at 4-2 for the Argos. Playing in the third singles spot, Mattos won the first set, and had a couple of match points in the second set tiebreak. However, Baines saved those points and took the second set, pushing the match to a third set super tiebreak. Mattos went to defeat Baines 6-4, 6-7, 10-5 to give the West Florida squad its fifth point and secure the twelfth team win of the 2009 season. Despite the thigh schedule, the remained matches were played out. Gray easily defeated Tran 6-4, 6-1 in the sixth spot. The Tritons won their third point when Tang defeated Baines 7-6, 2-6, 10-8.
West Florida will next play GSC rival Montevallo Saturday, March 28 at the Ralph “Skeeter” Carson Complex in Pensacola at 2:00 pm. For information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
