Tulane University
South Alabama
No. 19 Tulane Women's Tennis Rolls Past South Alabama
Mar 11, 2005 | Women's Tennis
March 11, 2005
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The No. 19 Tulane women's tennis team swept all three doubles matches to jump out to an early 1-0 lead, and never looked back as the Green Wave rolled to a 6-1 win over No. 48 South Alabama on Friday afternoon at Goldring Tennis Center.
Playing at No. 1 doubles, the No. 50 tandem in the nation, juniors Julie Smekodub and Jenny Kuehn were taken to a tie-breaking set by South Alabama's Katarina Palenikova and Maria Zivcicova, but the Tulane duo held off the Jags to win 9-8 (4). Nancy Kockott and Darya Ivanov cruised to an 8-2 victory on the second court while sophomore Dorottya Magas paired with senior Ana Saaibi to pick up the 8-4 win at No. 3.
The momentum gained in doubles play carried over to the singles as the Wave captured five of six matches to move to 9-5 on the season while the Jaguars dropped their third straight.
Currently ranked No. 97 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, Smekodub collected her ninth win of the year in two sets over Maria Zivcicova, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 2. Kockott, who checks in at No. 60 in the ITA rankings, notched the win at the three spot, 6-4, 6-3 against USA's Palenikova.
Reigning Conference USA Player of the Week Darya Ivanov won her fifth consecutive match to push her singles mark to 15-8 on the year with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 4 over Dominika Nemcovicova. Magas, who has a seven-match winning streak of her own, defeated Diana Stanic at No. 5, while Saaibi picked up the win in the sixth spot, 6-3, 6-3, over Klara Jarova.
"Today was a good win for us against a dangerous team that will pick up a lot of wins down the stretch," Tulane assistant coach Tom Hand said.
Tulane returns to the courts at Goldring Tennis Center on Sunday, hosting No. 62 Virginia Commonwealth in a match starting at noon. Admission is open to the public and free hot dogs will be provided to fans.
No. 19 Tulane 6, No. 48 South Alabama 1
Goldring Tennis Complex
New Orleans, La.
DOUBLES:
1. # 50 Kuehn/Smekodub (TU) def. Palenikova/Zivcicova (USA): 9-8 (4)
2. Kockott/D. Ivanov (TU) def. Jarova/Kurekova (USA): 8-2
3. Magas/Saaibi (TU) def. Nemcovicova/Stanic (USA): 8-4
SINGLES:
1. Ana Rupic (USA) def. #37 Jenny Kuehn (TU): 7-6, 6-2
2. #97 Julie Smekodub (TU) def. Maria Zivcicova (USA): 6-2, 6-2
3. #60 Nancy Kockott (TU) def. Katarina Palenikova (USA): 6-4, 6-3
4. Darya Ivanov (TU) def. Dominika Nemcovicova (USA): 6-4, 6-3
5. Dorottya Magas (TU) def. Dijana Stanic (USA): 6-3, 6-1
6. Ana Saaibi (TU) def. Klara Jarova (USA): 6-3, 6-3
