Oct. 8, 2010
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Facing a Purdue squad that finished No. 49 in the nation last year, the UCF women's tennis team posted victories in five of seven singles matches against the Boilermakers in the first day of the UCF Fall Tournament Friday. The Knights also picked up a win over No. 22 Arkansas in doubles.
"I'm really happy with today's matches. I think our players felt comfortable competing at home and that was a big advantage for us. I was very impressed with how we competed," said head coach Stephanie Nickitas. "Our theme for this year is that they need to earn it. And I think they earned a little something today. That is what they are going out to prove to themselves and other teams. We are not focused on the results right now, but they came today and that's a byproduct of being focused on the things we are working on this fall."
UCF kick-started the event against Arkansas in doubles and all three matches were extremely close. And the Knights were able to pick up a win when Alexis Rodriguez and Genevieve Lorbergs reached a tiebreaker against Jade Frampton and Valentina Starkova where they proceeded to cruise to the 9-8(2) victory.
The Black and Gold then turned its attention to singles vs. Purdue, and four of the seven contests went to three sets. At the top spot, Jenny Frisell, ranked No. 106 in the nation, dropped the first set to No. 82 Jennifer Rabot only to bounce back for the 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 triumph.
After edging Bhavani Tirumurti in the first-set tiebreaker, Rodriguez also claimed a win by posting a donut in the second set. Meanwhile, Lorbergs and Jenna Doerfler needed three sets to get past their opponents, and Taylor Dubins notched the final victory on the day by taking down Remi Martin, 6-3, 7-6(8).
Saturday's matches for the Knights will feature doubles against Missouri and singles vs. Arkansas. The action starts up at 10 a.m.
Day One Results of the UCF TournamentDoublesKate Lukomskaya/Kelsey Sundaram (Arkansas) def. Jenny Frisell/Courtney Griffith (UCF) 8-6Alexis Rodriguez/Genevieve Lorbergs (UCF) def. Jade Frampton/Valentina Starkova (Arkansas) 9-8(2)Emily Carbone/Stephanie Roy (Arkansas) def. Josephine Haraldson/Taylor Dubins (UCF) 9-7
Jennifer Rabot/Mara Schmidt (Purdue) def. Kaitlyn Ritchie/Mallory Weber (Missouri) 8-5Jamie Mera/Maria Christensen (Missouri) def. Gisella Pere/Anna Dushkina (Purdue) 8-6Imogen Golder/Bhavani Tirumurti (Purdue) def. Rachel Stuhlmann/Annemijn Koenen (Missouri) 8-5
SinglesNo. 106 Jenny Frisell (UCF) def. No. 82 Jennifer Rabot (Purdue) 6-7, 6-4, 6-1Alexis Rodriguez (UCF) def. Bhavani Tirumurti (Purdue) 7-6(4), 6-0Mara Schmidt (Purdue) def. Courtney Griffith (UCF) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)Genevieve Lorbergs (UCF) def. Anna Dushkina (Purdue) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4Jenna Doerfler (UCF) def. Imogen Golder (Purdue) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4Gisella Pere (Purdue) def. Josephine Haraldson (UCF) 6-3, 6-3Taylor Dubins (UCF) def. Remi Martin (Purdue) 6-3, 7-6(8)
No. 76 Kate Lukomskaya (Arkansas) def. Kaitlyn Ritchie (Missouri) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3Emily Carbone (Arkansas) def. Mallory Weber (Missouri) 6-2, 6-3Maria Christensen (Missouri) def. Valentina Starkova (Arkansas) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4Jade Frampton (Arkansas) def. Jamie Mera (Missouri) 6-3, 6-3Kelsey Sundaram (Arkansas) def. Rachel Stuhlmann (Missouri) 6-0, 6-1Stephanie Roy (Arkansas) def. Annemijn Koenen (Missouri) 6-1, 6-1Mahdi Besovic (Missouri) def. Alex Siegel (Arkansas) 6-0, 6-1