Feb. 23, 2013
DENTON, Texas -
No. 30 Arizona (6-5) fell to No. 57 North Texas (6-1), 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at the Waranch Tennis Complex in Denton, Texas.
Arizona saw its match come down to the last singles game for the second-consecutive match, losing to TCU, 4-3, on Friday as well.
"This was a tough weekend for us," Arizona head coach Vicky Maes said. "Today's match got off to a bad start right away in doubles and then we were slow moving in singles."
UA juniors Susan Mc Rann (Dublin, Ireland) and Akilah James (Brooklyn, N.Y.) won the first doubles game, 8-2, over Joubert and Serchenko. However, North Texas won the next two in the doubles round to clinch the doubles point.
UA junior Lacey Smyth (Oceanside, Calif.) picked up her tenth singles victory at the No. 1 spot over Kseniya Bardabush in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Smyth tied the match, 1-1.
North Texas took the next two single games and led Arizona, 3-1.
James cut North Texas' lead to one by defeating Ilona Serchenko, 6-3, 6-2, at the No. 4 spot.
After dropping the first set, 3-6, at the No. 2, Arizona junior Kim Stubbe (Mol, Belgium) came back against Barbora Vykydalova and took the next two sets, 6-4, 7-5. Stubbe's win tied the match, 3-3.
At the No. 6 spot, Arizona's Mc Rann battled against Agustina Valenzuela to three sets but Valenzuela came out on top, winning the game, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
"We certainly fought our way back into it," Maes said. "Credit to North Texas for being so feisty. They were ready to battle and deserved this win today."
The Wildcats will head back to the Robson Tennis Center as they host Utah State and Grand Canyon for a double-header on Saturday, March 2 that is set to begin 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 on this weekend's matches, follow @ArizonaWTennis on Twitter.
Doubles
1. Starkova/Vykydalova (North Texas) def. Smyth/Austin (UA) 8-2
2. Bardabush/Sprinkmeyer (North Texas) ef. Stubbe/Hendrikx (UA) 8-6
3. McRann/James (UA) def. Joubert/Serchenko (North Texas) 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. Lacey Smyth (UA) def. Kseniya Bardabush (North Texas) 6-1, 6-2
2. Kim Stubbe (UA) def. Barbora Vykydalova (North Texas) 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
3. Valentina Starkova (North Texas) def. Laura Oldham (UA) 6-3; 7-5
4. Akilah James (UA) def. Ilona Serchenko (North Texas) 6-3, 6-2
5. Franziska Sprinkmeyer (North Texas) def. Shayne Austin (UA) 6-3, 7-5
6. Agustina Valenzuela (North Texas) def. Susan McRann (UA) 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 5, 3, 4, 2, 6*
*indicates when match was clinched
