Gainesville, Fla. (May 12, 2006) ? The No. 40 University of South Florida women's tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships by defeating the No. 33 Maryland Terrapins, 4-0, Friday afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, Fla.
The win against Maryland is USF's first ever victory in the NCAA Championships.
“I think we compeated well today,” said head coach Agustin Moreno. “We have played on these courts before and we really like them. Physically, and I think that also goes with Florida, we are better then many teams. Now, it is even tougher with both teams (USF and Florida) who are used to weather.”
The Bulls jumped out to an early lead over the Terrapins, winning matches at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions to take the doubles point. USF's No. 3 duo of Luisa Obando and Courtney Vernon made quick work of Julia Craca and Neda Mihneva, downing the Terps twosome, 8-1.
Clinching the point for USF was Liz Cruz and Iciri Rai who defeated Jennifer Dent and Brooke Rogers at the No. 2 spot, 8-3. With the win, Cruz and Rai elevated their doubles record to an overall 16-10.
In singles competition, the Bulls came charging out of the gates, taking matches at the No. 1, 2 and 5 spots to defeat the Terrapins, 4-0.
First off the court was sophomore No. 60 Courtney Vernon who easily took care of No. 89 Marianne Baker, 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 2 spot. Vernon finished off her impressive match with an ace to secure the victory. With this win, Vernon extends her unbeaten streak to 20 matches.
At the No. 4 spot, Gabriela Duch won her first match since April 1, by defeating Jennifer Dent at the No. 4 spot, 6-2, 6-0. The junior is now 12-7 in dual matches on the season.
Clinching the deciding point for the Bulls was senior Neyssa Etienne who overpowered her opponent to a 6-3, 6-2 victor against No. 33 Ramona But at the No. 1 position. This was Etienne's second highest win over a ranked opponent (No. 1 Diana Srebrovic of Florida on February 2).
“I think it is amazing,” said Etienne. “It's been a while since our team has been in the NCAA's and this is my first time in the tournament with the team. I am really happy with the result today. We all played really well.”
The Bulls will now face the University of Florida in the second round of the NCAA Championships at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. This is the second meeting of the season against the two Florida teams. On February 2, the Gators got the best of the Bulls, defeating them by a score of 4-1. Florida holds a 44-1 all-time advantage over the Bulls.
Ticket Information:
Tickets may be purchased in advance or on each day of the tournament. An all-session pass is $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for senior citizens, college students, and children under 17. Single day tickets for Friday and Saturday are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for senior citizens, college students, and children under 17. Tickets are available at the Linder Stadium Box Office.
NCAA Women's Tennis First Round
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Final Score: South Florida 4, Maryland 0
Doubles
No. 1 Ramona But & Marianne Baker (11), Maryland, def. Gabriela Duch & Neyssa Etienne (9), USF 8-3
No. 2 Liz Cruz & Iciri Rai, USF, def. Jennifer Dent & Brooke Rogers, Maryland, 8-3*
No. 3 Luisa Obando & Courtney Vernon, USF, def. Julia Graca & Neda Mihneva, Maryland, 8-1
Singles
No. 1 Neyssa Etienne (70), USF def. Ramona But (33), Marlyand, 6-3, 6-2*
No. 2 Courtney Vernon (60), USF def. Marianne Baker (89), Maryland, 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 Liz Cruz (90), USF led Veronika Subertova, Maryland, 6-3, 5-3 DNF
No. 4 Gabriela Duch, USF def. Jennifer Dent, Maryland, 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 Neda Mihneva, Maryland led Iciri Rai, USF 6-2, 2-2 DNF
No. 6 Luisa Obanda, USF led Julia Graca, Maryland 6-3, 5-1 DNF
*clinching doubles/dual match point
Order of Finish: Doubles 3, 1, 2; Singles 2,4,1
Match Notes:
- This was USF's first ever win in the NCAA Championships.
- USF Advances to the second round and Faces the No. 4 seed Florida on Saturday at 1 p.m.
- The win was USF's 12th in its last 14 matches.
- It was the third straight victory for USF by a score of 4-0.
- Courtney Vernon improved to 20-0 in singles dual matches.
- It was USF's seventh win against a ranked opponent this season.
- USF defeated Maryland for the first time in school history, USF leads the all-time series, 1-0
