MEMPHIS, Tenn. (April 22, 2016) – The University of South Florida women's tennis team advanced to the finals of the American Championships by defeating SMU, 4-0, Friday afternoon in the semifinals at the Dunavant-Wellford Tennis Center.
The No. 56 Bulls (17-6) came out strong and seized the doubles point for the second straight day. USF was led by the tandem of Nicole Dzenga (Harare, Zimbabwe) and Chloe Murphy (England) playing on court three. Dzenga and Murphy improved their winning streak to three matches with a solid 6-3 win.
Playing out of the premiere position, juniors Olga Martinez (Barcelona, Spain) and Vera Bessonova (Moscow, Russia) came up clutch for the Bulls. The duo looked sharp as they took a 6-4 victory. The win gives Martinez and Bessonova eight doubles wins on the season.
Martinez would not waste any time as play moved to singles. The junior would give USF a 2-0 lead as she defeated her opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-1. The win moves Martinez to 6-2 when playing out of the four spot and 10-8 overall.
Freshman Vanja Klaric (Serbia) would strike next for the Bulls playing on court five. Klaric cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 straight set win. The freshman is now a perfect 11-0 in singles this season.
The final point of the afternoon was secured by sophomore sensation Jessica Cortes Chaves (Monterrey, Mexico). Playing out of the premiere singles position, Chaves was impressive in a 6-2, 6-4 win. Chaves is now 10-4 playing out of the No. 1 spot for USF.
In just her first year as head coach, Cristina Moros has taken the Bulls back to the American Championship final. The last time USF appeared in the finals was back in the 2013-14 season, where the Bulls won the inaugural American Championships in Tampa, Fla. A victory would make it two conference championships in three years for USF.
“It's a great feeling for sure, I knew from the beginning at our first practice that we had a lot of talent on our team and I think we just lacked the structure and competitiveness to get far,” said Moros. “The girls have come a long way and I couldn't be more pleased in the improvement that they have shown.”
The No. 2 seed Bulls are back in action Saturday, April 23, as they take on the No. 1 seed Tulsa in the American Championship final at 2 p.m. ET. The Golden Hurricane, come into the match as defending champions and look to capture back-to-back conference championships.
Tulsa is a familiar opponent for USF. The two teams met earlier in the season on Feb. 28. The Golden Hurricane narrowly edged the Bulls as they won 4-3 in Tulsa, Okla.
“I think doubles will be a key factor tomorrow, we lost the doubles point in Tulsa when we played them back in February, we've made some adjustments and our doubles in definitely better,” said Moros. “Tulsa is definitely a great team up and down the lineup, we just need to go out, compete hard and see where the chips fall.”
The American Championship finals will be streamed live on the American Digital Network. For more information about the live stream visit HERE.
For more information on the USF women's tennis team, follow @USFWomensTennis on Twitter and for more information on the American Championships you can visit the website HERE.
