No. 2 USF Heads to Conference Championship on Sunday
ORLANDO, APRIL 20, 2019 – The second-seeded USF women's tennis team beat No. 6 SMU 4-3, to advance to the championship game for the American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championships on Sunday. The time is still to be determined.
In a tightly contested match, USF (13-11, 4-2 AAC) started with a 1-0 deficit after dropping the doubles point with losses on courts one and three. The match on court two went unfinished.
Freshman
Laura Pellicer Perello, (Gandia, Valencia, Spain), was the first Bull to win her match, with a 6-4, 6-3, victory on court three, tying the game at 1-1.
Sophomore
Alexandria Mjos (Austin, Texas), was the second Bull of the day to win in straight-sets, with a 6-3, 6-4, victory on court six to put the Bulls up 2-1, in their first lead of the day.
SMU (11-12, 1-4) picked up a win on court one over senior No. 58
Ana Roman Dominguez (Burgos, Spain), 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, to even the score again at 2-2.
Senior
Vanja Klaric (Gaborone, Botswana), was determined to win her match. After falling 6-4 in the first set, she rallied to win her match 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, on court two. SMU immediately responded with a win over senior
Nicole Dzenga (Harare, Zimbabwe), 6-3, 6(5)-7, 6-4, on court five.
With the game tied at 3-3, freshman
Amelie Boy (Trianon, Mauritis), stepped up to the task at hand. After going down 7-6(4) in the first set, she battled in the second set to win 7-6(5), and then dominated set three with a 6-2 win on court four to clinch the Bulls' semifinal victory and book USF's ticket to the championship game against rival UCF.
Quotable
Head coach Cristina Moros on Saturday's victory:
"I know how much heart this team has and that is what brought us over the finish line today. We are going to have to put together one of the best matches of the year tomorrow but we are ready to do so."
Match Results:
Singles competition:
1. #121 Vivienne Kulicke (SMU) def. #58 A. Roman Dominguez (USF) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2.
Vanja Klaric (USF) def. Liza Buss (SMU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. L. Pellicer Perello (USF) def. Karina Traxler (SMU) 6-3, 6-3
4.
Amelie Boy (USF) def. Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. S. Monarrez Yesaki (SMU) def.
Nicole Dzenga (USF) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
6.
Alexandria Mjos (USF) def. Tiffany Hollebeck (SMU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition:
1. Karina Traxler/Tiffany Hollebeck (SMU) def.
Nicole Dzenga/
Alexandria Mjos (USF) 6-2
2. Ana Perez-Lopez/S. Monarrez Yesaki (SMU) vs.
Amelie Boy/A. Roman Dominguez (USF) no result
3. Vivienne Kulicke/Avery Aude (SMU) def.
Janvhi Clark/L. Pellicer Perello (USF) 6-4
Match Notes:
SMU 10-12
USF 12-10
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,6,1,2,5,4)
American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championship Semifinals
Up Next:
USF will play the No. 1 seed, rival UCF (21-3, 6-0), in the championship match of The American Women's Tennis Championship on Sunday. The Knights' record in the conference tournament is 6-5, and this will be their first championship in The American.
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 fifth year at the helm, as she led the program to an American Athletic Conference Championship in 2017.
– #GoBulls –
