ATHENS, Ga. — Sacramento State junior Margarita Karnaukhova closed her 2005 season with a two-set loss to 12th-ranked Kristi Miller of Georgia Tech (6-2, 6-3), Tuesday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championship.Karnaukhova, who is currently ranked 22nd in Div. I, dropped to 25-3 on the season and had her 10-match win streak halted.
After Karnaukhova jumped ahead 2-0 in the first set, Miller answered by taking the next six games and a 1-0 lead in the match. The pair then split the opening two games of the second set before Miller was able to hold serve, break Karnaukhova, and then hold again to move ahead, 4-1. Karnaukhova got back on track to win game six before Miller took two of the final to claim the match.
With the win, Miller automatically earns All-America honors. The freshman from Marysville, Mich., will next face third-seeded Audra Cohen of Northwestern in the Sweet 16.
Karnaukhova, who became the first female athlete in Big Sky Conference history to win three-straight conference MVP awards in any sport, advanced to the second round for the second-straight season. The Krasnodar, Russia, native also became the first Big Sky women’s tennis player to win an NCAA Championship match in two-consecutive seasons.
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