May 10, 2008
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WACO, Texas -
The fifth-ranked Baylor women's tennis team defeated No. 40 Tulsa by a 4-1 score on Saturday night at the Baylor Tennis Center. With the win, Baylor wins the Waco Regional and advances to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Okla. beginning May 15.
The win gives Baylor (30-2) its fourth-straight trip to the NCAA's Round of 16. In 2006, Baylor made its deepest run in the NCAA Tournament, falling in the quarterfinals to Florida. The Lady Bears will face 12th-seeded Miami in the Round of 16, after the Hurricanes defeated No. 22 Notre Dame 4-0 on Saturday afternoon.
"It was a tough match today," said head coach Joey Scrivano. "I'm glad we had some adversity. I love it when we really have to compete to win, and Tulsa was a really tough opponent for us."
Baylor got started quickly in doubles action as the sixth-ranked tandem of Zuzana Zemenova and Lenka Broosova defeated Alexandra Kichoutkin and Carla Zabaleta 8-4 on court one. Zemenova and Broosova held a 5-3 lead before claiming three of the next four games to hold on for the win. Taylor Ormond and Jelena Stanivuk rallied from a 5-3 deficit before falling 8-6 to Thalia Diaz-Barriga and Marta Marcinkowska at number two doubles. On court three, Zuzana Chmelarova and Karolina Filipiak held a 5-3 lead, but Rebecca Row and Jie Zeng rallied to win six of the next eight games to clinch the doubles point with a 9-7 win.
"I thought we did a great job today," said Broosova. "We lost the doubles point that we didn't expect to lose, but it was a wake-up call for us."
Baylor failed to secure the doubles point for the first time since losing two of three doubles matches to Texas A&M on April 2. The Lady Bears rallied to defeat the Aggies 5-2. In fact, Baylor had not lost a doubles match in over a month. On April 6, Jana Bielikova and Chmelarova lost at number three doubles to Viviana Yrureta and Natasha Viera of Kansas State by an 8-5 margin.
Though they dropped the doubles point, the Lady Bears cruised through singles play, winning four matches in straight sets. No. 25 Zemenova defeated No. 98 Kichoutkin 6-2, 6-0 on court one. No. 18 Broosova followed suit on the next point, downing Zabaleta 6-0, 6-3 at number three singles.
No. 43 Ormond gave Baylor a 3-1 lead with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Diaz-Barriga on court two before Stanivuk closed the match for the Lady Bears with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Marcinkowska at number five doubles.
"I was really pumped," said Zemenova. "It was my last match at home, and I really enjoyed it. It really liked the people, and they were cheering for me so I wanted to show them that I am here for them. We still have two weeks to go and so much is left. We need to go step by step and focus on every single match. If we do what we are supposed to do then we can accomplish something special."
Baylor returns to action May 15 at the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Okla. The Lady Bears will face 12th-seeded Miami in Sweet 16 action.
#5 Baylor 4, #40 Tulsa 1
Singles competition - Order of Finish (1,3,2,5)
1. #25 Zuzana Zemenova (BU) def. #98 Alexandra Kichoutkin (TUL) 6-2, 6-0
2. #43 Taylor Ormond (BU) def. Thalia Diaz-Barriga (TUL) 6-2, 6-0
3. #18 Lenka Broosova (BU) def. Carla Zabaleta (TUL) 6-0, 6-3
4. #99 Jana Bielikova (BU) vs. Rebecca Row (TUL) unfinished
5. Jelena Stanivuk (BU) def. Marta Marcinkowska (TUL) 6-2, 6-2
6. Karolina Filipiak (BU) vs. Agostina Santoro (TUL) unfinished
Doubles competition - Order of Finish (1,2,3)
1. #6 Zuzana Zemenova/Lenka Broosova (BU) def. Alexandra Kichoutkin/Carla Zabaleta (TUL) 8-4
2. Thalia Diaz-Barriga/Marta Marcinkowska (TUL) def. Taylor Ormond/Jelena Stanivuk (BU) 8-6
3. Rebecca Row/Jie Zeng (TUL) def. Zuzana Chmelarova/Karolina Filipiak (BU) 9-7
