TCU
Saint Mary's
Frogs Fall in Thriller at ITA Kickoff Weekend
1/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 28, 2011
BERKELEY, Calif. - TCU's women's tennis dropped a tough 4-3 decision to No. 40 St. Mary's College in first-round action of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Friday evening at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
The match was tied at three with only the No. 4 singles match still in progress. Claire Soper of Saint Mary's eventually got the better of No. 51 TCU's Shalini Sahoo by a score of 6-0, 2-6, 6-4. The match, which was the only singles match to go three sets, lasted 1 hour and 53 minutes.
At No. 1 singles, the Gaels claimed another close win with 87th-ranked Alex Poorta dropped TCU's Katariina Tuohimaa, 6-3, 7-6 (7). The two close wins were enough for St. Mary's (1-1) to overcome TCU (1-1) claiming the crucial doubles point to open the match.
The Horned Frogs picked up their two needed wins at doubles at the Nos. 1 and 3 slots after St. Mary's had claimed a win at No. 2 doubles. At No. 1, Tuohimaa and Federica Denti quickly took care of No. 87 Catherin Isip and Alex Poorta of Saint Mary's with an 8-3 win in 53 minutes.
TCU's Gaby Mastromarino and Olivia Smith battled from a 6-2 deficit to Anna Chikhikvishvili and Claire Soper before claiming a 9-7 win and giving the Frogs a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.
"I was really happy with how we played in the doubles," TCU coach Dave Borelli said. "That last match could have gone either way and the girls really worked hard to get that win. It's unfortunate we couldn't win the match, but we're going to keep working on things. We've got a touch match with North Texas tomorrow."
After the doubles, St. Mary's took a 2-1 lead after just 50 minutes of singles action. Chikhikvishvili was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over TCU's Idunn Hertzberg at No. 5 singles, Denti fell to Isip, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 2 singles.
The Frogs evened the match at two with Smith's second singles win of the season at the No. 3 position. She was a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Jenny Jullien of St. Mary's.
Mastromarino gave TCU a 3-2 lead in the match with a win at No. 6 singles, which was also her second win of the young season. She grabbed a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Molly Aloia.
TCU returns to action at the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT against North Texas.
No. 40 Saint Mary's College 4, No. 51 TCU 3
Hellman Tennis Complex | Berkeley, Calif. | 2011 ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Doubles
1. Denti/Tuohimaa (TCU) def. No. 87 Isip/Poorta 8-3
2. Fisher/Jullien (SMC) def. Babanova/Hertzberg 8-3
3. Mastromarino/Smith (TCU) def. Chikhikvishvili/Soper 9-7
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3* (TCU wins doubles point)
Singles
1. No. 87 Alex Poorta (SMC) def. Katariina Tuohimaa 6-3, 7-6(7)
2. Catherine Isip (SMC) def. Federica Denti 6-3, 6-1
3. Olivia Smith (TCU) def. Jenny Jullien 6-1, 6-3
4. Claire Soper (SMC) def. Shalini Sahoo 6-0, 2-6, 6-4
5. Anna Chikhikvishvili (SMC) def. Idunn Hertzberg 6-1, 6-4
6. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) def. Molly Aloia 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 6, 1, 4*
Players Mentioned
