NO. 62 ARIZONA UPSETS NO. 39 WOMEN'S TENNIS, 5-2

3/27/2009

TUCSON, Ariz. - The No. 39 Sacramento State women's tennis team fell victim to the No. 62 Arizona Wildcats by a score of 5-2 on Friday, March 27 at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.

With the loss, the Hornets fall to 12-6 on the season, while the Wildcats improved to 10-5.

The doubles point was one of the keys to victory on the day for Arizona, as after the Wildcats took No. 2 doubles and the Hornets were victorious at the No. 1 position, Arizona's Jane Huh and Ariane Masschelein clinched the point in an 8-6 victory at No. 3 doubles over freshman Maria Meliuk and junior Aileen Tsan.

Making her return after missing the team's last 11 matches, junior All-American Katrina Zheltova and sophomore Melissa Valenzuela upset No. 51 ranked Natasha Marks and Claire Rietsch, 8-4 at the No. 1 position, but No. 75 ranked Sarah Landsman and Danielle Steinberg were able to hold serve against redshirt freshman Clarisse Baca and senior Joyce Martinez Gutierrez, 8-2, in the other doubles match contested.

On the singles side, the Wildcats took an early 3-0 lead with victories at the No. 3 and No. 2 singles positions, but the Hornets fought back to make the score 3-2. Baca took down Huh at No. 5 singles, 6-2, 6-4, and Martinez Gutierrez followed with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Rietsch at No. 6 singles to pull the Hornets to within one.

The match came down to the No. 4 and No. 1 positions, and after both No. 1 competitor Zheltova and senior Luba Schifris at No. 4 lost their first set, they rallied to home the second set of the match to force a third and final set. Arizona was better on this day, however, as No. 94 ranked Steinbern defeated No. 79 Zheltova 7-5, 6-7, 7-5 and Masschelein defeated Schifris 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to give the Wildcats the victory.

The Hornets will continue their Arizona road swing, and seek revenge from last year's NCAA Tournament loss, when they take on No. 20 Arizona State at 12 p.m. on Saturday, March 28.

#62 Arizona 5, #39 Sacramento State 2
Mar 27, 2009 at Tucson, Ariz. (LaNelle Robson Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. #94 STEINBERG, Danielle (ARIZ) def. #79 ZHELTOVA, Katrina (SAC) 7-5, 6-7, 7-5
2. MARKS, Natasha (ARIZ) def. MELIUK, Maria (SAC) 6-4, 6-2
3. LANDSMAN, Sarah (ARIZ) def. VALENZUELA, Melissa (SAC) 6-2, 6-0
4. MASSCHELEIN, Ariane (ARIZ) def. SCHIFRIS, Luba (SAC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
5. BACA, Clarisse (SAC) def. HUH, Jane (ARIZ) 6-2, 6-4
6. MARTINEZ, Joyce (SAC) def. RIETSCH, Claire (ARIZ) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. VALENZUELA, Melissa/ZHELTOVA, Katrina (SAC) def. #51 MARKS, Natasha/RIETSCH, Claire (ARIZ) 8-4
2. #75 LANDSMAN, Sarah/STEINBERG, Danielle (ARIZ) def. BACA, Clarisse/MARTINEZ, Joyce (SAC) 8-2
3. HUH, Jane/MASSCHELEIN, Ariane (ARIZ) def. MELIUK, Maria/TSAN, Aileen (SAC) 8-6

Match Notes
Sacramento State 12-6; National ranking #39
Arizona 10-5; National ranking #62
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,2,5,6,4,1)