NO. 49 WOMEN'S TENNIS DROPS 4-3 HEARTBREAKER TO NO. 19 WASHINGTON
2/20/2010
SEATTLE - The No. 49 ranked Sacramento State women's tennis team held a 3-2 lead over the No. 19 ranked Washington Huskies, which included No. 46 ranked Katrina Zheltova knocking off No. 4 ranked Denise Dy, but fell by a score of 4-3 on Saturday, Feb. 20.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 4-3 on the season, while the Huskies improve to 6-1. The Hornets had defeated the Huskies by a margin of 4-3 the previous three seasons.
Washington raced out to a 1-0 lead thanks to strong doubles play from one of the nation's top tandems. No. 6 ranked Joyce Ardies and Dy defeated the Hornet tandem of sophomore Clarisse Baca and Zheltova at No. 1 doubles, 8-4, to clinch the point.
The Huskies would also win the first singles match to finish, as No. 14 Venise Chan defeated Hornet sophomore Maria Meliuk by a margin of 6-2, 6-3, giving Washington a 2-0 lead in the match. But, the Hornets would win the next three matches to finish to build a 3-2 lead in the match. That momentum started with Zheltova posting the 6-1, 6-3 straight set victory over Dy at the No. 1 singles position. Next, sophomore Tatsiana Kapshai defeated Lina Xu at No. 3 singles, 7-5, 6-3. Senior Aileen Tsan then gave the Hornets the lead in the match, defeating Aleksandra Malovic at No. 6 singles in three sets, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2.
Washington squared the match at 3-3, as Samantha Smith held on to defeat Baca at No. 5 singles, 7-5, 6-4, causing the match to come down to the No. 4 singles position. Freshman Rebeca Delgado held the lead in both sets, including a 4-2 margin in set two, before falling to Joyce Ardies of the Huskies, 7-5, 7-5, to give the Huskies the victory.
The Hornets will look to rebound on Sunday, Feb. 21, as they take on unranked Washington State at 10 a.m.
#19 Washington 4, #49 Sacramento State 3
Feb 20, 2010 at Seattle, Wash. (Nordstrom Tennis Center)
