Jan. 14, 2011

Friday Results

LA QUINTA, Calif. - Junior Diana Nakic made the most of her debut in a Baylor uniform winning her first two matches to earn a spot in the quarterfinal round of the National Collegiate Tennis Classic on Friday in La Quinta, Calif.

Nakic took down Big 12 foe Cierra Gaytan-Leach of Texas in straight sets, starting with a dominating 6-1 first set. The Georgia State transfer then held on for a 7-5 second set to advance to the second round. Nakic then faced a one-set deficit against UCLA's Pamela Montez, but battled back to even the match with a 6-1 second set. Facing a 0-3 deficit in the third, Nakic turned the set around to close Montez out, 6-4.

"We had a team retreat last weekend where the girls talked about the character traits they associated with Baylor Tennis, and Diana showed them all today," assistant coach Alison Ojeda said. "She had to work for every single point she won today, and it was good to see her keep her head up and keep fighting."

Also in singles, Baylor's Aya Bara suffered a first round loss to UT's Julia Wiegand by a score of 6-3, 6-3, then fell to Juliana Gajic 6-3, 6-0 in the consolation rounds.

In doubles, Nakic and Bara paired up to take on Texas' 87th-ranked duo of Aeriel Ellis and Krista Damico, only to fall 8-1.

"This tournament is great preparation for this upcoming spring season," Nakic said. "I am really excited for our team to start playing together."

Nakic will continue play on Saturday with the quarterfinal rounds set to begin at 8 a.m. PT/10 a.m. CT at the La Quinta Resort and Tennis Club.