Feb. 15, 2013
TUCSON, Ariz. -
No. 33 Arizona (5-3) defeated No. 52 Fresno State, 5-2, at the Arizona Robson Tennis Center on Friday afternoon.
The win was Arizona's third victory over a ranked opponent this season.
“We are pleased to get this win against a good Fresno State team,” Arizona head coach Vicky Maes said. “We knew we were going to have to battle hard right from the start and that doubles would be a key factor in gaining our momentum.”
The Wildcats earned the doubles point by winning matches at the No. 1 and 3 spots.
At No. 3 doubles, UA juniors Akilah James (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Susan Mc Rann (Dublin, Ireland) outplayed Susdorf and Kirpicheva, 8-2, to give the Wildcats the 1-0 advantage. The doubles victory was James and Mc Rann's seventh of the season.
Seconds after the No. 2 match concluded, Arizona junior Lacey Smyth (Oceanside, Calif.) and freshman Shayne Austin (Oaks Park, Calif.) secured the doubles point by clinching their match over Modoc and Agrawal, 9-8 (2).
In singles play, Smyth gave the Wildcats the two-point lead as she swept Aishwarya Agrawal, 6-1, 6-0, improving her individual record to 7-1 at the No. 1 spot.
“In singles, the girls were ready to go, fought hard for every point,” Maes said. “We pulled away quickly on 4 courts to clinch the win.”
Austin recorded her third singles victory of the season over Bianca Modoc, 6-1, 6-2 and also brought the Wildcats a point closer to earning the win.
Playing at the No. 4, James defeated Olga Kirpicheva, 6-3, 6-0, to help Arizona record its fourth home victory of the season.
Junior Kim Stubbe (Mol, Belgium) also gave the Wildcats a win at the No. 2 spot.
“I was incredibly pleased with every player's performance,” Maes said. “They brought a lot of effort to the court and the energy they kept throughout the match to help keep everyone on track. This was a job well done.”
Arizona women's tennis will continue tomorrow at Robson Tennis Center, as they host Santa Clara at 10 a.m. MST.
For complete results and continued coverage of Arizona women's tennis, visit the Arizona women's tennis page on Facebook or ArizonaWildcats.com. For live updates, follow @ArizonaWTennis on Twitter.
Doubles
No. 1 Austin/Smyth (UA) def. Modoc/Agrawal (Fresno State), 9-8(2)
No. 2 Ahmed/McQueen (Fresno State) def. Stubbe/Hendrikx (UA), 8-5
No. 3 Mc Rann/James (UA) def. Susdorf/Kirpicheva (Fresno State), 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
No. 1 Lacey Smyth (UA) def. Aishwarya Agrawal (Fresno State), 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Kim Stubbe (UA) def. Rana Sherif Ahmed (Fresno State), 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 Melissa McQueen (Fresno State) def. Laura Oldham (UA), 5-7, 7-6, (10-2)
No. 4 Akilah James (UA) def. Olga Kirpicheva (Fresno State), 6-3, 6-0
No. 5 Shayne Austin (UA) def. Bianca Modoc (Fresno State), 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 Sophie Watts (Fresno State) def. Susan Mc Rann (UA), 4-6, 6-4, (14-12)
Order of finish: 1, 5, 4*, 2, 3, 6
*indicates when match was clinched.
