NO. 54 WOMEN'S TENNIS FALLS TO NO. 55 ARIZONA, 4-3

4/16/2010

TUCSON, Ariz. - The No. 54 ranked Sacramento State women's tennis team dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision to the No. 55 ranked Arizona Wildcats on Friday, April 16.

With the loss, the Hornets fall to 16-6, while the Wildcats improve to 13-8.

After falling in the first doubles match to finish, the Hornets rallied to take the final two, securing the doubles point. At the No. 1 position, the duo of freshman Rebeca Delgado and sophomore Tatsiana Kapshai defeated Jane Huh and Natalia Toporowska 8-5, and in No. 2 play sophomores Clarisse Baca and Maria Meliuk took down Sarah Landsman and Claire Rietsch by a count of 8-2.

Singles play started well for the Hornets, as Baca posted a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Natalia Toporowska at No. 4 singles, giving Sacramento State a 2-0 lead in the match. Arizona posted their first point of the match at the No. 2 singles position, where No. 124 ranked Landsman defeated Delgado 6-0, 6-3. They then evened the match at 2-2 as Debora Castany defeated Hornet freshman Gayane Sarkisian at the No. 5 position by a final of 6-0, 6-3.

After Meliuk fell to Rietsch at the No. 3 position 6-2, 6-3, the Hornets evened the match at No. 6 singles, as freshman Zalina Nazarova took down Huh, 7-5, 7-5 to even the match at 3-3.

The matchup came down to No. 1 singles, where Kapshai took set one from the No. 107 ranked player in the nation Natasha Marks. The Wildcat sophomore rallied, however, taking the next two sets 6-4, 6-2 to give Arizona a 4-3 victory.

With her victory at No. 4 singles, Baca saw her singles win streak increase to nine straight matches. She is a perfect 11-0 on the season for the Hornets while playing at either the No. 3 or No. 4 positions. Delgado and Kapshai improved their doubles winning streak to eight matches, but Kapshai saw her singles win streak get snapped at seven matches.

The Hornets close out the regular season on Saturday, April 17 as they travel to take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks with the No. 1 seed in next weekend's Big Sky Tournament on the line. Both teams enter the match a perfect 7-0 in conference action.



#55 Arizona 4, #54 Sacramento State 3
Apr 16, 2010 at Tucson, Ariz. (LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.)

Singles competition
1. #107 MARKS, Natasha (ARIZ) def. KAPSHAI, Tatsiana (SAC) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
2. #124 LANDSMAN, Sarah (ARIZ) def. DELGADO, Rebeca (SAC) 6-0, 6-3
3. RIETSCH, Claire (ARIZ) def. MELIUK, Maria (SAC) 6-2, 6-3
4. BACA, Clarisse (SAC) def. TOPOROWSKA, Natalia (ARIZ) 6-3, 6-1
5. CASTANY, Debora (ARIZ) def. SARKISIAN, Gayane (SAC) 6-0, 6-3
6. NAZAROVA, Zalina (SAC) def. HUH, Jane (ARIZ) 7-5, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. DELGADO, Rebeca/KAPSHAI, Tatsiana (SAC) def. HUH, Jane/TOPOROWSKA, Natalia (ARIZ) 8-5
2. BACA, Clarisse/MELIUK, Maria (SAC) def. LANDSMAN, Sarah/RIETSCH, Claire (ARIZ) 8-2
3. CASTANY, Debora/MARKS, Natasha (ARIZ) def. SARKISIAN, Gayane/TSAN, Aileen (SAC) 8-2

Match Notes
Sacramento State 16-6; National ranking #54
Arizona 13-8; National ranking #55
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,2,5,3,6,1)