Feb. 1, 2009
LOS ANGELES - The 29th-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team won the doubles point against No. 10 Southern California, but the Trojans won four singles matches in straight sets to win, 4-1, in the second round of the ITA Kick-off Weekend.
With the victory, USC improves to 4-0 and advances to the 16-team ITA National Team Indoor Championships. A&M suffers its first loss of the season and drops to 2-1.
"I'm very proud of the way the girls came out and played today," A&M coach Kleinecke said. "That was kind of an ugly match [a 4-3 victory against Saint Mary's] yesterday that we played, and I felt like today we came out a completely different team."
The Aggies, who dropped the doubles point to Saint Mary's in the first round on Saturday, took two of three doubles matches against USC to jump put to a 1-0 lead. USC won the doubles match at the No. 1 line as 31st-ranked Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu defeated Janelle Cuthbertson and Christi Liles, 8-5. The Aggie duo of Stephanie Davidson and Morgan Frank evened the match, never trailing in their 8-5 victory over 53rd-ranked Alison Ramos and Maria Sanchez at No. 2.
The point was decided in a nail biter at the No. 3 line. A&M's Elzé Potgieter held off Sarah Fansler and Lyndsay Kinstler, 9-8, edging out the USC tandem, 8-6, in the tiebreaker.
"Obviously winning the doubles point was big for us, but the biggest thing today was us making sure that each person, whether they were on the court or off the court, knew that we could win this match," Kleinecke said. "I really felt like we came out and we gave a good shot."
USC built an early lead in all six singles matches, winning the first set on every court. The Trojans then completed straight-set wins on four courts and held leads on the other two courts when the match was decided.
Leyla Entekhabi was first off in singles, topping Davidson, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 6 to even the score at 1-1. Ramos, ranked No. 36, followed with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Liles at the No. 5 line to give USC the lead, 2-1.
Fansler, ranked No. 38, defeated Potgieter, 6-3, in the first set and went on a four-game winning streak in the second set to overcome a 4-2 deficit and win the match at the No. 1 line. Twenty-second ranked Sanchez clinched the victory for the Trojans, holding off Frank, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 2 line.
USC held narrow leads at No. 3 and No. 4 when play was halted. No. 16 Fink was leading Lauren Santacroce, 6-2, 6-5, at No. 3, and 57th-ranked Niculescu was leading Cuthbertson, 5-4 in the second set at No. 4 after winning the first set, 6-2.
"USC is a great team," Kleinecke said. "They didn't panic after they lost the doubles point. They came out and played very solid on every court. That is the difference in the match. They outplayed us there. I think this team has so much heart that they played with, and that is what I am very proud of them for.
"We learned some things that we need to go back and get better at if we are going to beat teams like this. But really the biggest thing is for everybody kind of getting used to the battle and the grind. This team has high hopes, and they are going to bounce back from it just like they did after yesterday's match."
The Aggies return home to play host to Auburn Friday at 6 p.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
(10) Southern California 4, (29) Texas A&M 1
February 1, 2009
Marks Tennis Stadium
Los Angeles, Calif.
Attendance: n/a
Singles
1. #38 Sarah Fansler (USC) def. Elzé Potgieter (TAMU), 6-3, 6-4
2. #22 Maria Sanchez (USC) def. Morgan Frank (TAMU), 6-3, 6-4
3. Lauren Santacroce (TAMU) vs. #16 Amanda Fink (USC), suspended
4. Janelle Cuthbertson (TAMU) vs. #57Gabriela Niculescu (USC), suspended
5. #36 Alison Ramos (USC) def. Christi Liles (TAMU), 6-3, 6-1
6. Leyla Entekhabi (USC) def. Stephanie Davidson (TAMU), 6-0, 6-1
Doubles (A&M wins the point)
1. #31 Fink/Niculescu (USC) def. Cuthbertson/Liles (TAMU), 8-5
2. Davidson/Frank (TAMU) def. #53 Ramos/Sanchez (USC), 8-5
3. Sheri Olivier/Potgieter (TAMU) def. Fansler/Lyndsay Kinster (USC), 9-8 (6)
Order of finish
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 6, 5, 1, 2*
*Clinched match
Team records
Texas A&M: 2-1
USC: 4-0