TCU
Wyoming
Frogs Fight Off Wyoming Comeback To Win, 4-3
4/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 3, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas - Junior Katariina Tuohimaa excelled under pressure Saturday, winning the deciding match to give the TCU women's tennis team a 4-3 win over Wyoming Saturday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The Horned Frogs snared their second Mountain West Conference win of the weekend with a tough battle with the Cowgirls on Senior Day.
"This is an excellent Wyoming team that we just beat," TCU head coach Jefferson Hammond said. "It was nip and tuck the whole time and the match could have gone either way. This team is climbing the mountain right now and we are taking it one step at a time. We've just got to continue to work hard and believe. Wyoming is definitely capable of beating anyone in the conference. They have really improved as has Air Force, Utah and a couple of other programs. This conference just keeps getting stronger and stronger and its great for us to get another win in this league."
TCU picked up the first doubles win of the morning, as senior Nina Munch-Soegaard teamed up with junior Maria Babanova to take down Wyoming's team of Rebecca Berger and Alexandra Kovacs from the middle court, 8-4. The Cowgirls answered with a win of their own, as Simona Synkova and Kim van Ginkel defeated TCU's top tandem in No. 40 Kayla Duncan and Katariina Tuohimaa, 8-4.
The Frogs clinched the doubles point from the third flight as junior Idunn Hertzberg and sophomore Gaby Mastromarino tallied an 8-4 victory of the Wyoming squad of Carly Van Hollen and Sarah Summerfield to give TCU an early 1-0 lead in the match.
At the start of singles action, Mastromarino added to the Frogs' advantage with a dominating 6-0, 6-0 win from the sixth flight of Sasa Nemcova. The victory marks the third of the season for the Tequesta, Fla., product and her first against a conference opponent this spring.
With their backs against the wall, the Cowgirls battled back to take the next two matches at Nos. 5 and 4, respectively. Kim van Ginkel posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over Babanova from the No. 5 position, while Hertzberg dropped a 6-2, 6-3 match to Berger at No. 4.
No. 63 Munch-Soegaard returned to the lead to TCU from the top court, battling back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set to upend Summerfield, 6-3, 7-5. The Amarillo, Texas native pushed the team score to 3-2 in favor of the Frogs with her sixth win of the season. With the win, Munch-Soegaard moved to within two victories of tying Angela Bartzen for the sixth-most career singles wins in TCU history.
"I'm so happy for Nina today," Hammond said. "She fought back in that second set, down 5-2. She has had a grand career and today was just another cherry on top of her fantastic four years as a Frog."
Seconds later, Kovacs knotted the team score at 3-3 with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 90 Duncan from the No. 2 position. Duncan, a native of Winston Salem, N.C., could not find a way to swing the momentum in her favor and failed to get much of a lead in either set.
Just as Wyoming tied the score, the third flight match between Tuohimaa and Synkova had just started the third set. Synkova cruised to a 6-2 score in the first set, while Tuohimaa battled back to take the second frame, 6-2. The third stanza started out tight, as the players battled to set the tempo, but Tuohimaa took five of the last six games to win, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
"Katariina really stepped up big time in the third set," Hammond said. "She handled the pressure well and used her past experience to her advantage. I'm really proud of her."
TCU will return to the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center to play the final home match of the 2010 season, hosting Colorado State at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
TCU def. Wyoming, 4-3
SINGLES
1. No. 63 Nina Munch-Soegaard (TCU) def. Sarah Summerfield (WYO), 6-3, 7-5
2. Alexandra Kovacs (WYO) def. No. 90 Kayla Duncan (TCU), 6-3, 6-2
3. Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Simona Synkova (WYO), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Rebecca Berger (WYO) def. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU), 6-2, 6-3
5. Kim van Ginkel (WYO) def. Maria Babanova (TCU), 6-1, 6-3
6. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) def. Sasa Nemcova (WYO), 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 1, 2, 3*
DOUBLES
1. Synkova/van Ginkel (WYO) def. No. 40 Duncan/Tuohimaa (TCU), 8-4
2. Babanova/Munch-Soegaard (TCU) def. Berger/Kovacs (WYO), 8-4
3. Hertzberg/Mastromarino (TCU) def. Van Hollen/Summerfield (WYO), 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*
Players Mentioned
