Tulane University
Houston
Women's Tennis Advances To C-USA Tournament Championship Match
Apr 14, 2003 | Women's Tennis
April 14, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - - The Tulane women's tennis team advanced to the championship match of the Conference USA Tournament for the second time in three years after posting a 4-0 semifinal win over Houston at the Goldring Tennis Center on Monday.
Tulane, ranked 28th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, moved to 16-4 overall with the win. The top-ranked Green Wave will face No. 55 TCU in the championship match at noon on Tuesday. The Horned Frogs are the No. 2 seed and reached the finals after posting a 4-0 win over Louisville in Monday's first semifinal match.
The Green Wave got off to an early 1-0 lead by winning on courts one and two to claim the opening doubles point. The Tulane tandem of Jenny Kuhn and Julie Smekodub, ranked ninth by the ITA, cruised to an 8-1 win over the Houston team of Foley and Terblance at the No. 1 spot. Maria Ivanov and Nancy Kockott clinched the doubles point for Tulane with their 8-5 victory over the Cougar duo of Miller and Longoni at the No. 3 spot.
Kockott was the first players off the court in singles play, giving Tulane a 2-0 lead with her 6-1, 6-1 win over Houston's Sarah Flood on court 6. Freshman Erika Valdes, ranked 103rd by the ITA, increased Tulane's lead to 3-0 with her 6-1, 6-0 victory over Terblance at the No. 4 spot. Ana Saaibi put the Green Wave into the championship match when she clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kami Miller at the No. 5 spot.
"We played some very good tennis today, especially on the back courts," Tulane head coach David Schumacher said. "The girls came out and played very focused and very inspired today. Hopefully that will carry over to the championship match against TCU. We had a very good crowd for it having been a noon match, so hopefully people will again be able to take their lunch break and come watch us play for a conference championship on Tuesday."
Tuesday's C-USA Tournament championship match will pit the winners of the last two titles against each other. TCU won the tournament last season, while Tulane won the 2001 championship. The two teams met earlier this season, with Tulane capturing a 5-2 win in Fort Worth.
"Even though we beat them earlier this year, we know we have our work cut out for us in the championship match," Schumacher said. "They are a very good team who played very well this morning in their semifinal win. It should be a very exciting match for the fans."
(1) Tulane 4, (3) Houston 0
Conference USA Tournament - Monday, April 14, 2003 - New Orleans, La. (Tulane)
Doubles
1) #9 Kuhn/Smekodub (Tulane) def. Foley/Terblance (Houston), 8-1
2) Kockott/Ivanov (Tulane) def. Miller/Longoni (Houston), 8-5
3) Saaibi/Valdes (Tulane) vs. Flood/Urbin (Houston), DNF
Singles
1) #32 Julie Smekodub (Tulane) vs. Miranda Foley (Houston), DNF
2) #56 Jenny Kuhn (Tulane) vs. Analia Longoni (Houston), DNF
3) Maria Ivanov (Tulane) vs. Karine Urbin (Houston), DNF
4) #103 Erika Valdes (Tulane) def. Yolandi Terblance (Houston), 6-1, 6-0
5) Ana Saaibi (Tulane) def. Kami Miller (Houston), 6-1, 6-2 - clinched match
6) Nancy Kockott (Tulane) def. Sarah Flood (Houston), 6-1, 6-1
