USF Defeats Michigan State at Home, 4-3
TAMPA (March 7, 2018) — The Bulls fought to the end, and were victorious against the Spartans with freshman
Evelyne Tiron securing the win in a match that came down to a third set on the last court.
After dropping the doubles point, the Bulls rallied during singles for a team win starting with
Vanja Klaric (Serbia) beating her opponent in straight sets on court four, 6-4, 6-1.
Evelyne Tiron was the last to play, and she clinched the match with a third-set win on court three, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Jessica Cortes Chaves (Monterrey, Mexico) won at the two spot in an intense match that went to a third set tie breaker, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (4).
On court six,
Nicole Dzenga (Harare, Zimbabwe) also went to three sets. She lost the second set tie breaker, but came back in set three, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.
Ana Roman Dominguez (Spain) also took her opponent to three sets, but ultimately fell, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3.
In doubles,
Jessica Cortes Chaves and
Juliana Cardoso fell to their opponent, 6-4, at the No. 1 spot. Habiba Shaker and Sara Kuuttila defeated Dzenga and Klaric in a tie breaker, 7-6(3).
Quotable:
Head coach Cristina Moros on the win…
"Definitely a great win today. We needed that. They have a good record and have beaten some good teams, so it felt good to get them outside and get them on our courts. I think that gave us an advantage for sure. It was a disappointing doubles point. We were up in a couple matches, and we let some leads slip away. It was nice to see the four girls with Vanja, Evelyne, Jess, and Nicki be able to close it out when they were up and have the confidence to do that, so again just trying to get on a little streak here. That's number two, and we'll see where it takes us."
Results:
Singles Competition
1. Aslina Chua (MSU) def. Ana Roman (USF) 6-3, 0-6, 6-3
2. Jessica Chaves (USF) def. Habiba Shaker (MSU) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4)
3.
Evelyne Tiron (USF) def. Sara Kuuttila (MSU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
4.
Vanja Klaric (USF) def. Emily Metcalf (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Davina Nguyen (MSU) def.
Juliana Cardoso (USF) 7-5, 6-4
6.
Nicole Dzenga (USF) def. Samantha Memije (MSU) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Emily Metcalf/Davina Nguyen (MSU) def.
Juliana Cardoso/Jessica Chaves (USF) 6-4
2. Habiba Shaker/Sara Kuuttila (MSU) def.
Nicole Dzenga/
Vanja Klaric (USF) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Ava Thielman/Lexi Baylis (MSU) vs.
Alexandria Mjos/Ana Roman (USF) no result
Match Notes
Michigan State Women's Tennis 8-3
University of South Florida 4-7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,5,2,1,6,3)
Up Next:
The Bulls remain at home and host UTEP on Friday March 9 at 1pm. USF women's tennis will play side-by-side with the men's tennis team as they take on Memphis. Both games will begin at 1 p.m.
Be sure to follow USF women's tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
Head coach Cristina Moros will be in her third year at the helm of after leading the program to an American Athletic Conference Championship in 2017.
– #GoBulls –
