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May 2, 2008 - Haak Tennis Complex, Fresno, California Fresno, Calif. - The top-seeded Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds survived a spirited effort from the upset-minded Vanguard University Lions to claim their third consecutive NAIA Region II Championship today at the Haak Tennis Complex. The hosts needed 3 hours and 15 minutes to finally pull out a 5-3 win over the inspired Lions. Damia Donkervoort and Hana Jurcovicova got the visitors off to a great start with an 8-5 win over Anna Karavayeva and Maria Klokotzky at No. 1 doubles. FPU tied it with an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles, thanks to Angie Minova and Yulia Blinovskaya, but Betty Tesfa & Jelena Jovic made it 2-1 for the Lions with a 9-7 win over Amandine Ferot and Amandine Ferot at No. 2 doubles. It was a different story in singles play. Yulia Blinovskaya tied it at 2-2 with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Olivia Amstad at No. 6 singles. Moments later Maria Klokotzky gave the Sunbirds a 3-2 lead with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Donkervoort at No. 4. The Lions evened it at 3-3 when Betty Tesfa dismantled Anna Karavayeva (6-4, 6-1) at No. 2 singles. Katia Sebate put the Sunbirds back into the lead with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jovic at No. 3 singles and Minova closed it out for FPU with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jurcovicova at No. 1. "Vanguard came out ready to play and we were a little flat in a couple spots," said FPU head coach Neil Castro. "We finally got rolling in singles with five first-set wins, but the Lions deserve a lot of credit." The Sunbirds (20-1), ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, claimed the region's automatic berth into the 20-team, but will have plenty of company from the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Lions (22-4), ranked fifth, No. 3 Azusa Pacific (16-6) and No. 6 California Baptist (13-8) are all expected to receive at-large berths. The 28th annual NAIA National Championship is set for the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama, May 12-16, 2008. |
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CHAMPIONSHIP #1 Fresno Pacific d. #3 Vanguard 5-3 Friday, May 2, 2008 | ||
| Singles | ||
| 1 | Angie Minova d. Hana Jurcovicova (VU) |
6-2, 6-2 |
| 2 | Betty Tesfa (VU) d. Anna Karavayeva |
6-4, 6-1 |
| 3 | Katia Sebate d. Jelena Jovic (VU) |
6-4, 6-2 |
| 4 | Maria Klokotzky d. Damia Donkervoort (VU) |
6-2, 6-1 |
| 5 | Amandine Ferot vs. Anna Valingsten (VU) |
6-2, 3-4 (Dnf) |
| 6 | Yulia Blinovskaya d. Olivia Amstad (VU) |
6-0, 6-0 |
| Doubles | ||
| 1 | Donkervoort & Jurcovicova (VU) d. Karavayeva & Klokotzky |
8-5 |
| 2 | Tesfa & Jovic (VU) d. Sebate & Ferot |
9-7 |
| 3 | Minova & Blinovskaya d. Amstad & Valingsten (VU) |
8-3 |
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May 1, 2008 - Haak Tennis Complex, Fresno, California Sunbirds, Lions advance to final with lop-sided wins Fresno, Calif. - The top-seeded host Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds and No. 3 seeded Vanguard University Lions both posted lop-sided wins in NAIA Region II semifinal action at the Haak Tennis Complex today. The Sunbirds, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, swept all three doubles matches, then got singles wins at No. 3 from Katia Sebate and No. 6 from Yulia Blinovskaya to post a 5-0 sweep over 4th-seeded California Baptist (13-8) in the day's first semifinal. No. 3 seeded Vanguard registered a mild upset with a convincing 5-1 win over 2nd-seeded Azusa Pacific (16-6). The Lions only loss came at No. 1 doubles. The 2008 NAIA Region II Team was announced between semifinal matches and included FPU seniors Angie Minova and Anna Karavayeva. FPU head coach Neil Castro was named the Region II Coach of the Year while Point Loma Nazarene's Kristin Strimple was named the Region II Player of the Year. It was the second Region II honor for Karavayeva (2006, 08) and third consecutive for Minova and Castro (2006, 07, 08). Friday's championship between the Sunbirds (18-1) and Lions (22-3) begins at 9:00 a.m. | ||
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SEMIFINAL #1 #1 Fresno Pacific d. #4 California Baptist 5-0 Thursday, May 1, 2008 | ||
| Singles | ||
| 1 | Angie Minova vs. Barbara Oliveria (CBU) |
6-3, 0-0 (Dnf) |
| 2 | Anna Karavayeva vs. Marcela Montanha (CBU) |
5-7, 1-1 (Dnf) |
| 3 | Katia Sebate d. Dunya Wren (CBU) |
6-0, 6-0 |
| 4 | Maria Klokotzky vs. Nawchali DeSilva (CBU) |
6-0, 4-2 (Dnf) |
| 5 | Amandine Ferot vs. Jessica Roddy (CBU) |
6-3, 4-3 (Dnf) |
| 6 | Yulia Blinovskaya d. Maddy Nelson (CBU) |
6-0, 6-0 |
| Doubles | ||
| 1 | Karavayeva & Klokotzky d. Montanha & Wren (CBU) |
8-4 |
| 2 | Sebate & Ferot d. Nawchali & B. Oliveria (CBU) |
8-1 |
| 3 | Minova & Blinovskaya d. Nelson & Roddy (CBU) |
8-0 |
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SEMIFINAL #2 #3 Vanguard d. #2 Azusa Pacific 5-1 Thursday, May 1, 2008 | ||
| Singles | ||
| 1 | Hana Jurcovicova (VU) vs. Bay Daniels (APU) |
6-4, 2-2 (Dnf) |
| 2 | Betty Tesfa (VU) d. Casey Wetzig (APU) |
6-2, 6-0 |
| 3 | Jelena Jovic (VU) d. Sheryl Bon (APU) |
6-0, 6-2 |
| 4 | Damia Donkervoort (VU) d. Katy Jelsma (APU) |
6-2, 6-2 |
| 5 | Kim Tran (APU) vs. Anna Valingsten (VU) |
6-4, 0-0 (Dnf) |
| 6 | Olivia Amstad (VU) vs. Lindsey Cloninger (APU) |
6-1, 2-0 (Dnf) |
| Doubles | ||
| 1 | Bon & Daniels (APU) d. Donkervoort & Jurcovicova (VU) |
8-4 |
| 2 | Tesfa & Jovic (VU) d. Jelsma & Wetzig (APU) |
8-2 |
| 3 | Amstad & Valingsten (VU) d. Tran & Cloninger (APU) |
8-5 |
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2008 NAIA REGION II TEAM | ||
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Bay Daniels - Azusa Pacific | ||
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Hana Jurcovicova - Vanguard | ||
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Anna Karavayeva - Fresno Pacific | ||
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Angie Minova - Fresno Pacific | ||
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Marcela Montanha - California Baptist | ||
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Barbara Oliveria - California Baptist | ||
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Kristin Strimple - Point Loma Nazarene | ||
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Betty Tesfa - Vanguard | ||
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2008 Region II Player of the Year | ||
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Kristin Strimple - Point Loma Nazarene | ||
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2008 Region II Coach of the Year | ||
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Neil Castro - Fresno Pacific | ||
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************* | ||
