Friday, 03/16/2012

SEATTLE – Freshman Riko Shimizu posted wins in both singles and doubles today to lead the Husky women’s tennis team, but ninth-ranked Cal was too deep and came away with a 6-1 win over Washington at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. Shimizu, from Ojai, California, improves to 4-0 at No. 6 singles this year for the Huskies (6-5, 0-2 Pac-12).

California (10-4, 3-0 Pac-12) had earned a 5-2 win over UW earlier this year in Berkeley. The Huskies were in the mix on five of six singles courts, but could not break through consistently. Cal won the doubles point to start things off with wins from its two ranked duos at first and second doubles. Shimizu and fellow freshman Julija Lukac came back from 1-4 down to win at third doubles in a tiebreaker, 7-1, over Alice Duranteau and Cecilia Estlander.

In singles, the Bears took five of the six first sets. Shimizu was the exception, and she defeated Stephany Chang, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 6 singles, winning the final four games. At the time that made it 2-1 Cal overall.

The clinching point came at No. 1 singles, which pitted Top-20 opponents Denise Dy and Zsofi Susanyi against each other. Dy had beaten Susanyi in straight sets in the first meeting between the teams in January, but Susanyi returned the favor today. The 17th-ranked freshman saved three set points at 4-5 in the second set, and came back to beat 11th-ranked Dy, 6-3, 7-5.

Capucine Gregoire faced a friend and fellow Frenchwoman at fourth singles in Duranteau. Down a set and 2-4 in the second, Gregoire came back to force a tiebreak in the second set, but Duranteau pulled it out, 7-5, to complete a 6-3, 7-6 win. The last match went to Cal, as freshman Lukac fell short at fifth singles to Estlander, 6-3, 6-4.

The Bears got a great performance from 66th-ranked Anett Schutting at third singles, as she rarely missed en route to a 6-0, 6-1 win over senior Samantha Smith. And sophomore Andjela Nemcevic came up short against 100th-ranked Annie Goransson, 6-3, 6-3.

Washington will search for its first conference win next week in the desert, as the Huskies go on the road to face Arizona on March 23 followed by Arizona State on March 24.

Washington Women’s Tennis
Nordstrom Tennis Center – Seattle, Wash.
March 16, 2012
No. 9 California 6, No. 36 Washington 1

Doubles

1) (38) Juricova/Susanyi (Cal) def. Dy/Smith (UW), 8-4
2) (27) Goransson/Schutting (Cal) def. Nemcevic/Gregoire (UW), 8-2
3) Lukac/Shimizu (UW) def. Duranteau/Estlander (Cal), 8-7 (1)

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles

1) (17) Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) def. (11) Denise Dy (UW), 6-3, 7-5
2) (100) Annie Goransson (Cal) def. Andjela Nemcevic (UW), 6-3, 6-3
3) (66) Anett Schutting (Cal) def. Samantha Smith (UW), 6-0, 6-1
4) Alice Duranteau (Cal) def. Capucine Gregoire (UW), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
5) Cecilia Estalnder (Cal) def. Julija Lukac (UW), 6-3, 6-4
6) Riko Shimizu (UW) def. Stephany Chang (Cal), 6-4, 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 6, 2, 1, 4, 5