Tulane University
New Orleans
Women's Tennis Tops UNO
Apr 22, 2003 | Women's Tennis
April 22, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - - The Tulane women's tennis team posted a dramatic come-from-behind win to clinch the doubles point, then added three more singles wins to post a 4-0 victory over cross-town rival UNO on Tuesday.
The match started at Tulane's Goldring Tennis Complex, where the two teams were able to complete doubles play, but was forced inside to the Hilton RiverCenter Courts for singles action.
Tulane won its sixth straight match to improve to 19-4 overall, with the 19 wins establishing a new school record in that category. The Green Wave are currently ranked 29th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. UNO, which lost for the first time this season to a Louisiana opponent, dropped to 16-4 overall.
Tulane took the opening doubles point in dramatic fashion. Ana Saaibi and Erika Valdes cruised to an 8-0 win over the UNO team of Veerman and Osedumme on court two, but UNO knotted things up when Liselott Hedeberg and Ana Santoro posted an 8-4 win over the Tulane team of Lucy Wood and Maria Ivanov on court three, leaving court one to decide the doubles point. The UNO tandem of Laetitia Zembski and Lucie Mazinova jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Tulane's ninth-ranked team of Jenny Kuhn and Julie Smekodub, but the Wave duo rallied for an 8-6 win to give Tulane the doubles point.
From there, however, the match was temporarily halted by heavy rains in the New Orleans area. The teams moved to the Hilton courts, where Tulane made turned in three quick wins to seal the dual match victory.
Smekodub, ranked 32nd by the ITA, cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Osedumme at the No. 1 singles spot, while Kuhn, ranked 56th, added a 6-1, 6-2 win over Mazinova at the No. 2 spot. Freshman Erika Valdes, ranked 103rd by the ITA, clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Santoro at the No. 4 position.
Next up for the Green Wave is the team's fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Wave earned an automatic berth by virtue of winning the Conference USA Tournament last week.
No. 29 Tulane 4, UNO 0
April 22, 2003 - New Orleans, La.
Doubles
1) #9 Kuhn/Smekodub (Tulane) def. Zembski/Mazinova (UNO), 8-6
2) Saaibi/Valdes (Tulane) def. Veerman/Osedumme (UNO), 8-0
3) Hedenberg/Santoro (UNO) def. Wood/Ivanov (Tulane), 8-4
Singles
1) #32 Julie Smekodub (Tulane) def. Patricia Osedummes (UNO), 6-1, 6-2
2) #56 Jenny Kuhn (Tulane) def. Lucie Mazinova (UNO), 6-1, 6-2
3) Maria Ivanov (Tulane) vs. Laetitia Zembski (UNO), DNF
4) #103 Erika Valdes (Tulane) def. Ana Santoro (UNO), 6-0, 6-1
5) Ana Maria Saaibi (Tulane) vs. Inge Veerman (UNO), DNF
6) Lucy Wood (Tulane) vs. Liselott Hedenberg (UNO), DNF
