|
Thursday, January 25, 2007 - Fresno, CA Fresno - There was a big grin on the face of FPU tennis coach Neil Castro. Who could blame him? Moments earlier Ana Karavayeva had tucked away the final shot in a season-opening 5-2 win over Cal State Northridge. Castro was clearly pleased with what he had just witnessed. "This is exactly what we needed," said Castro. "We got some great work in against a quality D-I opponent, and we got the win. Sure, we have some things to work on, but I am very pleased." FPU opened the match with a dramatic win at No. 1 doubles. FPU's Jelena Pandzic and Amandine Ferot trailed the team of Silvia Gutierrez and Ana Matijasevic 4-7 and faced three match-points. Pandzic and Ferot battled back to claim a 9-7 win. Karavayeva & Angelina Minova's 8-2 win over Canna Furuta and Kanyke Koichumanova gave the Sunbirds the doubles point. In singles play, Pandzic made short work of Gutierrez with a 6-1, 6-0 win. Freshman Audrey Laib was equally impressive at No. 4 with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Matijasevic. "I think Audrey made a statement today," said Castro. "I think she played our best match of the day." In a marathon battle of counter-punchers, Minova picked up FPU's fourth point with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Canna Furuta. A few minutes later Karavayeva out-lasted Koichumanova 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. The Matador points came from Kasia Krasinka's 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Ferot and Sonya Kumar's 6-4, 6-4 decision over Megan Hanner at No. 5 and 6, respectively. FPU's win also avenged last year's season-opening 4-3 loss to the Matadors in Northridge. The Sunbirds will host another NCAA Division I opponent this Saturday, January 27, when the San Jose State Spartans will be the Haak Tennis Complex. The first ball will be served at 12:00 noon. |
|
SUNBIRDS def. CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 5-2 Thursday, January 25, 2007 | ||
| Doubles | ||
| 1 | Pandzic & Ferot def. Gutierrez & Matijasevic (CSN) |
9-7 |
| 2 | Karavayeva & Minova def. Furuta & Koichumanova (CSN) |
8-2 |
| 3 | Krasinska & Kumar CSN) def. Hanner & Laib |
9-7 |
| Singles | ||
| 1 | Jelena Pandzic def. Silvia Gutierrez (CSN) |
6-1, 6-0 |
| 2 | Angelina Minova def. Canna Furuta (CSN) |
6-2, 6-4 |
| 3 | Anna Karavayeva def. Kanyke Koichumanova (CSN) |
6-2, 2-6, 7-5 |
| 4 | Audrey Laib def. Ana Matijasevic (CSN) |
6-1, 6-3 |
| 5 | Kasia Krasinska (CSN) def. Amandine Ferot |
2-6, 6-3, 6-3 |
| 6 | Sonya Kumar (CSN) def. Megan Hanner |
6-4, 6-4 |
Image of the Day
Down 7-4, FPU's Amandine Ferot (foreground) and Jelena Pandzic fought off three match-points, then stormed back for a 9-7 win over Silvia Gutierrez and Ana Matijasevic in doubles action today at the Haak Tennis Complex.
