Both Francis Marion and Armstrong Atlantic State advanced in the
opening round of the NCAA National Championships in Houston.
Francis Marion gutted out a marathon 5-4 win over Abilene Christian
while Armstrong Atlantic State pounded Incarnate Word 5-0.
The Lady Pirates (29-1) advance to the Quarterfinals to face Barry
University, 5-0 winners over Northwest Missouri State, at 9:00 a.m.
on Thursday. Francis Marion will take on Lynn on Thursday at 10:00
am
AASU captured all three doubles matches as Alisa Kagukina and
Sofia Haggstrom won, 8-1, at No. 3 doubles over Alba Passanisi and
Nadia Pope. Iuliia Stupak and Gabriella Kovacs won, 8-3, at No. 1
doubles over Chandra Carpozzi and Sarah Carswell, while Martina
Beckmann and Alida Muller-Wehlau took out Erica Engberg and
Gretchen Trautmann, 8-3, at No. 2 doubles. Kovacs then picked up a
quick 6-0, 6-1 win over Pope at No. 3 singles, while Muller-Wehlau
clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Passanisi at No. 2
singles.
Thursday's meeting with Barry will be the first time the two teams
have met at the national championships since the 2002 semi-finals.
The two teams played earlier this year, with AASU taking an 8-1 win
at Barry back on April 9.
For Francis Marion, sophomore Tereza Sykorova rallied from down
4-0 in the third and deciding set to win and give seventh-ranked
FMU a dramatic 5-4 win over sixth-ranked Abilene Christian
University, Wednesday morning (May 14) in the opening match of the
NCAA Division II Women’s Tennis National Finals.
The Patriots improve to 23-2 and advance to face third-ranked Lynn
University in a national quarterfinal match on Thursday at 10 a.m.
(Eastern time) at Houston’s Memorial Park. Lynn dispatched
34th-ranked Southwest Baptist University 5-0 on Wednesday.
With the two teams deadlocked at 4-4, Sykorova, ranked 10th
nationally in singles, and 41st-ranked Irene Squillaci staged a
marathon match at the No.1 singles spot. Sykorova won the first set
easily 6-2. She fell behind 4-1 in the second set, rallied to lead
5-4 and had two match points before Squillaci won the set 7-6 by
virtue of a 7-3 score in the tiebreaker.
Sykorova then fell behind 4-0 in the third set, rallied to win
five straight games to lead 5-4, before Squillaci knotted the match
at 5-5. Sykorova then broke Squillaci’s serve to lead 6-5 and
won her own serve to win the match.
Francis Marion trailed 2-1 after doubles play. The Patriots’
No.2 doubles duo of Klara Vitkova and Valeska Ibscher won easily
8-1, while at the No. 3 position, Sykorova and Magda Jezovicova
suffered their first loss of the season after 24 straight wins,
falling 8-5.
After FMU’s Jenny Ludwig and Ibscher won in straight sets at
singles spots No. 3 and No. 5, Abilene Christian capture two
three-set wins at No.4 and No. 6. That gave the Wildcats a 4-3
advantage.
Nearly as important and dramatic as Sykorova’s win was the
victory by FMU senior Sarka Vitkova at No.2 singles that tied the
match at 4-4. She lost 6-2 to 30th-ranked Aina Rafolo in the
opening set, but came back to win the next two sets 6-3 and
6-2.
“I am beyond words. There is nothing left to say,”
said FMU head coach Garth Thomson. “Last week’s win to
get to the finals was so big, but to beat the sixth-ranked team and
advance to the Elite Eight is certainly the biggest victory yet in
our program’s history. Both Tereza and Sarka had a gut check
at the first two singles positions. Sarka handled the pressure well
as she has all season, and Tereza continues to be the backbone of
our squad.”
NCAA II National Finals (Sweet 16) in Houston, TX
Women’s Tennis Match Results
Francis Marion University vs Abilene Christian University
May 14, 2008 at Houston, TX
#7 Francis Marion University 5, #6 Abilene Christian University
4
Singles competition
1. #10 Tereza Sykorova (FMU) def. #41 Irene Squillaci (ABIL) 6-2,
6-7 (3-7), 7-5
2. #40 Sarka Vitkova (FMU) def. #30 Aina Rafolo (ABIL) 2-6, 6-3,
6-2
3. Jenny Ludwig (FMU) def. Meagan Brown (ABIL) 6-1, 6-3
4. Jaclyn Walker (ABIL) def. Klara Vitkova (FMU) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
5. Valeska Ibscher (FMU) def. Dina Pavlin (ABIL) 7-5, 6-2
6. Sarah Drummond (ABIL) def. Magda Jezovicova (FMU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #6 Aina Rafolo/Irene Squillaci (ABIL) def. #20 Sarka
Vitkova/Jenny Ludwig (FMU) 8-5
2. Klara Vitkova/Valeska Ibscher (FMU) def. Jaclyn Walker/Dina
Pavlin (ABIL) 8-1
3. Meagan Brown/Sarah Drummond (ABIL) def. Tereza Sykorova/Magda
Jezovicova (FMU) 8-5
Match Notes:
Francis Marion University 23-2; National ranking #7; Regional
ranking #2
Abilene Christian University 26-4; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,5,6,4,2,1)
NCAA II National Finals (Sweet 16) in Houston, TX
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