TAMPA, Fla. (March 23, 2007) ? Senior Shadisha Robinson stopped a five-match losing streak, and the No. 39 University of South Florida women's tennis team ended its own three-match skid, taking down No. 35 Denver Friday afternoon.
The win marks the third ranked opponent that USF has beaten this season. Wins against No. 39, TCU on Mar. 14, and No. 14, VCU on Feb. 25 came on the road.
The Bulls (9-6) were able to capture the doubles point for the first time in six matches, as Robinson and Courtney Vernon took down Kyla Iwinski and Julia Bauregger, 8-2 at No. 2, and Liz Cruz and Iciri Rai earned their ninth win of the year over Rachel Sackmaster and Marisa Mechem, 8-1, on court three.
Taking the first point into singles play, the team swept the bottom half of the order to clinch the match at 4-0.
Cruz set down Sackmaster at No. 4, 6-0, 6-1 and Rai sandwiched 6-0 wins around Kaja Smole's second set win, to take the match at No. 6.
Gabriela Duch clinched the match for USF at No. 5, setting down Iwinski, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
No. 27 Robinson closed her match next in straight sets over DU's only ranked player, No. 110 Ute Schnoy. The win at No. 2 moves Robinson to a perfect 7-0 in the flight for the season.
Vernon also retained a spotless record at the top position, after fighting off a first set loss to Annette Akskal, 4-6. The 42nd ranked player in the country battled back in the strong sun to win-out the remaining frames, 6-4, 6-2 for her team-leading 12th victory of the year.
The Bulls were prevented from recording their seventh shutout home win of the season on court three, where Bauregger survived Jessica Sweeting in three long sets, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
The women's tennis team concludes its seven-match stretch against ranked opponents tomorrow at 11 a.m., when No. 53, Dartmouth visits the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. USF will welcome UNF on Sun., Mar. 25 for its regular-season home finale, also at 11 a.m. Both matches are free to the general public.
No. 39 USF 6, No. 35 Denver 1
Doubles:
1) Aksdal/Schnoy (DU) def. Duch/Sweeting (USF) 8-6
2) Vernon/Robinson (USF) def. Iwinski/Bauregger (DU) 8-2
3) Cruz/Rai (USF) def. Sackmaster/Mechem (DU) 8-1
Singles:
1) (42) Courtney Vernon (USF) def. Annette Aksdal (DU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
2) (27) Shadisha Robinson (USF) def. Ute Schnoy (DU) 7-6(7-5), 6-2
3) Julia Bauregger (DU) def. Jessica Sweeting (USF) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
4) Liz Cruz (USF) def. Rachel Sackmaster (DU) 6-0, 6-1
5) Gabriela Duch (USF) def. Kyla Iwinski (DU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
6) Iciri Rai (USF) def. Kaja Smole (DU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-0
Order of Finish:
Doubles - 3,2,1
Singles - 4,6,5,2,3,1
USF: 9-6 DU: 9-6
