University of South Florida
Buffalo
USF Wins Battle of the Bulls
March 13, 2008 | Women's Tennis
TAMPA, Fla. ? The University of South Florida women's tennis team (12-5) swept the Buffalo Bulls, 7-0, en route to their sixth-straight victory, Thursday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts in Tampa, Fla.
USF picked up the doubles point, giving USF a 1-0 advantage leading into singles competition. The USF Bulls had a strong showing from Jessica Zok and Lauren Shumate who clinched the doubles point for the Bulls at the No. 2 spot against Smaranda Stan and Diana Toia of Buffalo, 8-4.
“They played a very good match this afternoon,” said USF head coach Agustin Moreno. “I feel they were very consistent today and improved a lot of their doubles.”
No. 49 Janette Bejlkova has been the model of consistency for the Bulls in 2008, raising her dual-match record to 10-0 on the season. The freshman out of Clearwater High School exploited Andrea Novaceanu's backhand and stayed aggressive to secure the victory at the top spot in the lineup, 6-1, 6-4.
“When I first started to watch her warm up, I noticed she has a weak backhand,” said Bejlkova. “I made sure to force her to use her backhand and then surprise her every once in a while with a forehand shot.”
Sophomore Jessica Zok clinched the match for USF taking care of Diana Popescu at the No. 2 spot, 6-1, 6-2.
“I wanted to move her side to side and pull her off the court,” said Zok. “This opens up the court and gives me a bigger area of the court to aim for.”
Zok, a native of Canada and a transfer from Baylor, has been getting used to playing outdoors and has transitioned her game accordingly.
“I've learned to construct points more now that I've been playing outdoors,” said Zok. “Indoors, I was able to over power my opponents but when I transitioned to the outdoors game, I have to be smarter in my location and add movement to the ball.”
Along with Bejlkova and Zok, Liz Cruz, Allyn Mueller, Iciri Rai and Natalia Guevara each picked up victories for the Bulls on the afternoon.
The women's tennis team will return to the courts on Saturday, March 15 when they face No. 49 Dartmouth Big Green. The first serve is scheduled for 11 a.m.
NCAA Women's Tennis
No. 44 USF 7, Buffalo 0
March 13, 2008
USF Varsity Tennis Courts
Tampa, Fla.
Doubles
1.Bejlkova/Rai (USF) def. Popescu/Harijanto (BU), 8-3
2. Zok/Shumate (USF) def. Novaceanu/Jacob (BU), 8-4
3. Cruz/Guevara (USF) def. Stan/Toia (BU), 8-3
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. No. 49 Janette Bejlkova (USF) def. Andrea Novaceanu (BU), 6-1, 6-4
2. Jessica Zok (USF) def. Diana Popescu (BU), 6-1, 6-3
3. Liz Cruz (USF) def. Denise Harijanto (BU), 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (2)
4. Allyn Mueller (USF) def. Smaranda Stan (BU), 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (7)
5. Iciri Rai (USF) def. Tina Jacob (BU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Natalia Guevara (USF) def. Anna Subenkova (BU), 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 2, 1, 4, 3
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