Friday, 04/06/2012

SEATTLE – The Husky women’s tennis team picked up a much needed sweep today against new Pac-12 members Colorado, breaking into the win column in conference play for the first time. Washington (7-9, 1-6 Pac-12) lost just one set in singles against the Buffs (7-10, 0-6 Pac-12) despite playing without two of its top-four players in singles.

Senior Denise Dy returned to play doubles, and earned a win there with Samantha Smith, but she sat out in singles once again, and freshman Capucine Gregoire also was out today due to injury, but the Huskies hung together to pick up the 7-0 win at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.

Head Coach Jill Hultquist told the team “that although Colorado is not ranked, beating them 7-0 today with Denise and Capucine out of our lineup, it was a great effort for us. It was good for our confidence, and I thought our attitude was great today.”

After taking the doubles point, UW would win all six first sets in singles to take control. Senior Adrijana Pavlovic stepped in to the No. 6 singles spot today and she picked up her second dual singles win of the year, beating Ania Anuszkiewicz, 6-0, 6-4, to make it 2-0 Huskies. The next point came from Natali Coronel, who got her first win since Feb. 18, as she beat Camille Sabourin, 6-4, 6-1. Coronel missed a month due to injury. Today she was down 0-3 before winning 12 of the final 14 games.

The trend up the lineup continued, as the clinching point came at No. 4 singles, where freshman Riko Shimizu overcame Carla Manzi Tenorio in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. Then freshman Julija Lukac made it 5-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Julyette Steur at the three spot.

The final two matches were the closest. At No. 1 singles, sophomore Andjela Nemcevic and Kristina Schleich split the first two sets, Nemcevic taking the first, 6-3, then Schleich winning the second, 4-6. With the match clinched, the two played a 10-point tiebreak. Nemcevic went up 8-3 before Schleich won the next four points, but Nemcevic came back with the last two for a 10-7 win.

Senior Samantha Smith completed the sweep at No. 2 singles. She pulled out the first set, 6-4, over Winde Janssens. Janssens then served for the second set at 6-5, but Smith broke back to force a tiebreaker, and then won the tiebreak, 7-5.

Washington took the early lead with a doubles point win, its first since Feb. 24 against San Diego State. At second doubles, Nemcevic and Shimizu pulled away for an 8-3 win over Manzi Tenorio and Anuszkiewicz. Moments later, Dy and Smith finished off an 8-3 win of their own at No. 1 doubles over Steur and Janssens. It took much longer on court three, but Lukac and Coronel finished off the sweep with an 8-5 win over Schleich and Sabourin.

The Huskies have a pivotal match ahead on Saturday, as 43rd-ranked Utah comes in for another 12 noon start time. The match will likely be played outdoors at the Bill Quillian Stadium.

Washington Women’s Tennis
Nordstrom Tennis Center – Seattle, Wash.
April 6, 2012
No. 44 Washington 7; Colorado 0

Doubles

1) Dy/Smith (UW) def. Steur/Janssens (CU), 8-3
2) Nemcevic/Shimizu (UW) def. Manzi Tenorio/Anuszkiewicz (CU), 8-3
3) Lukac/Coronel (UW) def. Schleich/Sabourin (CU), 8-5

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles

1) Andjela Nemcevic (UW) def. Kristina Schleich (CU), 6-3, 4-6, (10-7)
2) Samantha Smith (UW) def. Winde Janssens (CU), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
3) Julija Lukac (UW) def. Julyette Steur (CU), 6-3, 6-4
4) Riko Shimizu (UW) def. Carla Manzi Tenorio (CU), 6-1, 6-4
5) Natali Coronel (UW) def. Camille Sabourin (CU), 6-4, 6-1
6) Adrijana Pavlovic (UW) def. Ania Anuszkiewicz (CU), 6-0, 6-4

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