April 1, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 60 Marshall women's tennis team halted UCF's winning streak at five matches with a 5-2 decision over the Golden Knights at Bass-Rudd Tennis Center on the Louisville Campus on Saturday.
The Thundering Herd (15-6) opened the day by winning the doubles point after earning victories at No. 2 and No. 3. Poised to spoil the sweep at the top spot, the Golden Knights' duo of senior captain Pamela Fernandez and freshman Elvira Serrot were up 7-4 before freshman Kellie Schmitt and junior Lynzee Kever battled back. The Marshall pair took the tiebreaker 7-3 and the match 8-7.
Despite the loss in doubles, Fernandez continued her streak as the No. 1 singles position for UCF (10-7). She beat Kever, 6-4, 6-0, to earn her seventh consecutive victory.
The Golden Knights' other point came from sophomore Anna Yakimchenkova's 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Herd sophomore Shannon Brown at the No. 4 position.
The outcome was decided at the bottom of the lineup, where both matches stretched to three sets. At the No. 6 spot, UCF sophomore Kyla McNicol took the first set 6-3 before dropping the last two 6-4, 6-2 to Marshall freshman Jessica Keener.
Meanwhile, UCF junior Megan Hunter lost her first set 6-3 to the Herd's Karolina Soor before fighting to a 7-5 win in the second. She lost 6-2 in the deciding set.
"I felt like we could have beaten this team," said UCF head coach Patricia Allison. "We played good tennis but we were a little shy."
The match was the Golden Knights' second against a Conference USA opponent despite the lack of a regular season league schedule.
UCF remains in Kentucky to play Louisville on Sunday at 9 a.m. before returning home for its final regular season finale against in-state rival Stetson on April 8.
Singles
1. Pamela Fernandez (UCF) def. Lynzee Kever (MU), 6-4, 6-0
2. Kellie Schmitt (MU) def. Elvira Serrot (UCF), 6-1, 6-4
3. Jeanne Schwartz (MU) def. Kenza Belbacha (UCF), 6-3, 6-4
4. Anna Yakimchenkova (UCF) def. Shannon Brown (MU), 6-3, 6-4
5. Karolina Soor (MU) def. Megan Hunter (UCF), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
6. Jessica Keener (MU) def. Kyla McNicol (UCF), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. Schmitt/Kever (MU) def. Fernandez/Serrot (UCF), 8-7 (7-3)
2. Soor/Brown (MU) def. Hunter/McNicol (UCF), 8-4
3. Schwartz/Keener (MU) def. Becky Gordon/Yakimchenkova (UCF), 8-6