DOUBLES SWEEP COSTLY AS WOMEN’S TENNIS FALLS TO NO. 21 TULANE, 4-3
Freshman Klara Petersson upset Tulane''s Nancy Kockott, ranked No. 67, 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday. |
SEATTLE, Wash. - The No. 40 Sacramento State women’s tennis team dropped all three doubles matches which proved to be the deciding factor in the Hornets 4-3 loss to No. 21 Tulane, Sunday morning at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle. With the loss, Sacramento State is 15-4 on the season and had its 12-match winning streak come to an end and also had its streak of six-straight wins over a ranked opponent come to an end. The last time the Hornets lost to a ranked opponent was to No. 1 Stanford, 5-2, on Feb. 10. The Green Wave improved to 15-5 on the year.Tulane opened the day with a sweep of all three doubles matches to claim the point. At the one, junior Margarita Karnaukhova and sophomore Cecilia Helland dropped an 8-2 decision to Julie Smekodub and Jenny Kuehn, who are the No. 29 ranked doubles team in the nation. At the two, sophomore Anna Erikson and freshman Klara Petersson fell to Maria Ivanov and Nancy Kockett, 8-2. At three, senior Roberta Fessenko and sophomore Anna Karaveyeva fell to Dorottya Magas and Ana Maria Saaibi, 8-3.
Needing to win four of the six singles matches, the Hornets managed a 3-3 split, giving Tulane the win. At the one, Karnaukhova improved to 16-2 as the 28th-ranked player in the nation defeated No. 51 Kuehn, 6-1, 6-7, 7-5 in a hard fought match. At the two, Erikson dropped a tough 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 decision to Maria Ivanov. At the three, Fessenko dropped a tough three-set match to No. 96 Smekodub, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. At the four, Petersson upset No. 67 Kockett easily, winning 6-2, 6-2. At the five, Karaveyeva fell in her match to Magas, 6-4, 6-4. At the six, Helland, ranked No. 65, continued her winning streak with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Saaibi. Helland leads the team with a 17-1 record.
Sacramento State returns to the courts on Friday, April 8 as they travel to Southern California to take on host UC Irvine. First serve against the Anteaters is set for 1:30 p.m. PDT.
No. 21 Tulane 4
No. 40 Sacramento State 3
Nordstrom Tennis Center, Seattle, Wash.
Singles
1. No. 28 Margarita Karnaukhova (SAC) def. No. 51 Jenny Kuehn (TU): 6-1, 6-7, 7-5
2. Maria Ivanov (TU) def. Anna Erikson (SAC): 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
3. No. 96 Julie Smekodub(TU) def. Roberta Fessenko (SAC): 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
4. Klara Petersson (SAC) def. No. 67 Nancy Kockott(TU): 6-2, 6-2
5. Dorottya Magas(TU) def. Anna Karaveyeva (SAC): 6-4, 6-4
6. No. 65 Cecilia Helland (SAC) def. Ana Maria Saaibi (TU): 6-3, 7-6
Doubles
1. No. 29 Smekodub/Kuehn (TU) def. Helland/Karnaukhova (SAC): 8-2
2. M. Ivanov/Kockott (TU) def. Erikson/Petersson (SAC): 8-2
3. Magas/Saaibi (TU) def. Fessenko/Karaveyeva (SAC): 8-3
