Tulane University
Southern Miss
Women's Tennis Opens Season With Two Wins
Jan 25, 2003 | Women's Tennis
Jan. 25, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - - The Tulane women's tennis team opened the 2003 season in impressive fashion, cruising to identical 6-1 victories over Southern and Southern Miss in a doubleheader at the Goldring Tennis Center on Saturday.
The Green Wave, ranked 41st by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, are now 2-0, while both Southern and Southern Miss fall to 0-1 overall.
Tulane started the day against Southern, taking all three doubles matches in 8-1 fashion against the Jaguars to claim an early 1-0 lead. From there, the Green Wave swept 1-5 singles in straight sets, with Tulane players dropping just one game at the 1, 2, 4 and 5 spots.
The second match of the day, against Conference USA foe Southern Miss, was nearly a mirror image of the first. The Wave swept doubles play to take an early 1-0 lead before claiming straight-set wins at the 1-5 positions. Freshman Erika Valdes gave the Wave its second point with a convincing 6-0, 6-1 decision at No. 2 singles, while fellow freshman Jenny Kuhn put the Wave up 3-0 with her 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles. Sophomore Nancy Kockott, playing in her first dual match since the 2001 season, clinched the match for the Wave with her 6-1, 6-1 decision at No. 4 singles.
Tulane's results were all the more impressive considering three of the Green Wave's top three players - sophomore Maria Ivanov, senior Julie Morris, and freshman Julie Smekodub - did not play in either match. All three are ranked in the ITA preseason poll, with Smekodub leading the way at No. 10 in the singles rankings. Kuhn is ranked 101st, while Morris is listed 125th. In addition, Smekodub and Kuhn are the nation's top-ranked doubles tandem.
"It is always good to get the season started off with a win, or in this case, two," Tulane head coach David Schumacher said. "We had a chance to show some of our depth today. Jenny and Erika both did very well in their Tulane debuts. They both only lost two games in their two matches and played some very good tennis."
Tulane returns to action next Saturday, Feb. 1, as the Green Wave play host to Florida State at the Goldring Tennis Center on the Tulane campus.
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2003
Goldring Tennis Center - New Orleans, La.
Tulane 6, Southern 1
Doubles
1) Saaibi/Valdes (Tulane) def. Perry/Marshall (Southern) - 8-1
2) Kuhn/Wood (Tulane) def. Hicks/Johnson (Southern) - 8-1
3) Duchin/Ounjian (Tulane) def. Nabors/Zapata (Southern) - 8-1
Singles
1) Jenny Kuhn (Tulane) def. Isoke Perry (SU) - 6-0, 6-1
2) Erika Valdes (Tulane) def. Ariana Marshall (SU) - 6-1, 6-0
3) Ana Saaibi (Tulane) def. Tania Hicks (SU) - 6-2, 6-1
4) Lucy Wood (Tulane) def. Patricia Zapata (SU) - 6-1, 6-0
5) Karen Duchin (Tulane) def. Sarah Johnson (SU) - 6-0, 6-1
6) Kelli Nabors (SU) def. Mariana Sarmiento (Tulane) - 6-0, 6-2
Tulane 6, Southern Miss 1
Doubles
1) Saaibi/Valdes (Tulane) def. Foster/Narra (USM) - 8-0
2) Kuhn/Wood (Tulane) def. Sadofsky/Berry (USM) - 8-0
3) Duchin/Ounjian (Tulane) def. McClure/Ulrich (USM) - 8-4
Singles
1) Jenny Kuhn (Tulane) def. Emily Foster (USM) - 6-1, 6-0
2) Erika Valdes (Tulane) def. Nikhila Narra (USM) - 6-0, 6-1
3) Ana Saaibi (Tulane) def. Kathi Sadofsky (USM) - 6-1, 6-2
4) Nancy Kockott (Tulane) def. Amanda McClure (USM) - 6-1, 6-1
5) Lucy Wood (Tulane) def. Olivia Berry (USM) - 6-1, 6-3
6) Jennifer Sibille (USM) def. Kori Ounjian (Tulane) - 7-5, 4-6, (10-2)
