University of South Florida
Louisville
WoMen's Tennis Earns Berth In BIG EAST Championship Final
April 21, 2007 | Women's Tennis
TAMPA, Fla. (April 21, 2007) ? With a 4-0 blanking of No. 3 seed Louisville, the University of South Florida women's tennis team will face off against No. 1 seed Notre Dame in the final of the BIG EAST Championships, Sunday at Noon on the Varsity Tennis Courts.
The Bulls took care of business for the second straight day, shutting out an opponent 4-0. After seizing the doubles point with 8-3 wins at both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, USF wasted no time in sealing the match with three singles wins.
Iciri Rai won handily over UofL's Natalie Baez on court six, 6-1, 6-1. The end of Rai's match was followed closely by Shadisha Robinson upending Lauren Imre 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot. Gabriela Duch provided the clinching point, winning for the second straight day at No. 5, with a 6-3, 6-1 defeat of the Cardinals' Jo-Ann Van Aerde.
“We played well today, but even more than that, was the focus that we had,” said head coach Agustin Moreno. “We were really focused and we're ready for tomorrow. Notre Dame is very tough everywhere, both in singles and in doubles, but I think we have a chance.”
The title match will be the second consecutive year that Notre Dame and USF have played for the conference crown. The Irish defeated the Bulls 4-1 to claim the trophy last year.
BIG EAST Championships - No. 2 USF 4, No. 3 Louisville 0
Doubles
1) Duch/Sweeting (USF) def. Imre/White (UofL) 8-3
2) Vernon/Robinson (USF) def. Baez/Gorbea (UofL) 8-3.
3) Laszkowski/Van Aerde (UofL) led Cruz/Rai (USF) 7-3 DNF
Singles:
1) Shadisha Robinson (USF) def. Lauren Imre (UofL) 6-1, 6-2
2) Courtney Vernon (USF) led Natalie Laszkowski (UofL) 6-1, 4-3 DNF
3) Jessica Sweeting (USF) led Bianca Gorbea (UofL) 6-4, 1-0 DNF
4) Liz Cruz (USF) led Robyn White (UofL) 6-1, 5-2 DNF
5) Gabriela Duch (USF) def. Jo-Ann Van Aerde (UofL) 6-3, 6-1
6) Iciri Rai (USF) def. Natalie Baez (UofL) 6-1, 6-1
