University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Illinois State
Cougars Beat Illinois State to Split Doubleheader
3/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
LINCOLN, Neb. â€" The Houston Cougar Women's Tennis team split a pair of matches, falling to Nebraska 4-0 before rebounding to defeat Illinois State 4-1 on Saturday. Houston finished the weekend with a 2-1 record after also defeating Kansas State, on Friday.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST NEBRASKA
Houston began play with a morning matchup against No. 39 Nebraska, and the Cornhuskers grabbed the first point of the match with a win of doubles. At the No. 3 position, Claire Reifeis and Hayley Haakenstad topped Lauren Alter and Sveva Mazzari 6-1. The No. 2 position was the next to finish, with Lisa Andersson and Vasanti Shinde defeating Constandena Nicolaou and Cristina Rovira 6-3. Mary Hanna and Paula Del Cueto Castillo led Tsveta Dimitrova and Ana Glumac 5-3 when doubles ended.
Singles play began with a win at the No. 2 position for Reifeis of Nebraska. Reifeis took set one against Mazzari 6-4 before closing the match with a 6-2 win in set two, claiming the Huskers' second point. Nebraska extended their lead to 3-0 at the No. 3 singles position when Del Cueto Castillo defeated Rovira 6-3, 6-3.
Nebraska clinched the match with a victory for Hanna at the No. 4 position over Alter. Hanna took an early lead in the match with a 6-4 win in set one. Alter battled back to force a third set after taking set two 6-1, however Hanna responded with a 6-0 win in the third set to claim the point and settle the match for Nebraska.
When play against Nebraska was halted, Dimitrova led Shinde 7-6, 3-2, while Katerina Matysova led Nicolaou 6-3, 6-5 and Andersson led Glumac 7-6, 2-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST ILLINOIS STATE
The Cougars were back on the court for an afternoon matchup against Illinois State. The Redbirds grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the match by taking the doubles point. The Cougars won the first doubles match when Alter and Mazzari teamed to defeat Valerija Gercar and Andrea Beneroso 6-1. The win was the fifth of the season for the duo.
Illinois State responded however with a win at the No. 2 doubles position as Jana Kustkova and Gabriela Sprague topped Nicolaou and Rovira 6-3. In a tightly contested match, the Redbirds sealed the point with a 6-4 win for Marcia Tere-Apisah and Jelena Karla Vujicic over Dimitrova and Glumac at the No. 1 doubles position.
Houston evened the score to open singles play with a victory for Dimitrova at the No. 1 singles position. Dimitrova topped Tere-Apisah in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 to win her sixth singles match of the season and give the Cougars their first overall point in the match.
Glumac followed with a straight-set win of her own while playing at the No. 6 position. The junior picked up her fourth win of the season, triumphing 6-4, 6-1 over Beneroso, and gave the Cougars a 2-1 lead in the match.
Playing at the No. 5 singles position, it was Nicolaou who helped extend Houston's lead to 3-1. The freshman jumped ahead with a 6-3 win in the first set, but found set two tied at 5 apiece. However, the rookie kept her composure and took the final two games to win 6-3, 7-5.
The final point of the match came down to Mazzari who was locked up with Vujicic at the No. 2 singles position. Mazzari dropped the first set 6-4, before answering with a 6-4 win of her own to even the match. The junior sealed the deal with a 6-3 win in the final set to pick up her sixth victory of the spring and end the overall match at 4-1.
When play was halted, Rovira was in a 3-set battle with Sprague at No. 3 singles with the score 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 1-5, while Alter led Gercar 3-6, 6-3, 5-2 at No. 4 singles.
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
Houston returns home for its first match in nearly a month inside the Barbara Wallace Winston Tennis Facility. The Cougars will host Bowling Green on Tuesday, March 7, with first serve scheduled for 3 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
