May 12, 2001
TEMPE, Ariz. - The eleventh-ranked Arizona State (18-5, 5-3) women's tennis squad advanced to tomorrow's NCAA Second Round with today's 7-0 sweep over the University of Massachusetts (20-8) at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe. The Devils will face No. 23 South Carolina (15-8) tomorrow in the Regional final to determine who will advance to next week's Round of 16 in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
"Today was a good match. I give UMass a lot of credit. They made us play well in doubles," said ASU Head Coach Sheila McInerney, who was happy about today's challenge despite not having played a dual match in nearly three weeks.
The Devils were able to steal the team point today by winning all three doubles matches, a healthy sign going into tomorrow's match against South Carolina. ASU's Celena McCoury and Mhairi Brown, ranked No. 12 in the nation, defeated UMass' Annie Hamilton and Francesca Mancini, 8-4, on the No. 1 court. "We're going to be really aggressive and have a lot of chutzpah--dedication--[tomorrow]," sophomore Mhairi Brown commented on tomorrow's preparation for South Carolina. On the No. 2 court, the No. 38 Megan Yeats/Cindy Sureephong combo downed Helena Horak and Susan Hyams, 8-1, and ASU's Adria Engel and Faye DeVera remained undefeated in dual doubles (5-0) after defeating Jafra Depontes and Lindsey Gillooly on the No. 3 court, 8-4.
In singles action, ASU failed to drop a single set, winning all six of the singles matches. Both sophomores Mhairi Brown and No. 6 Adria Engel each notched their 27th win with victories on the No. 5 and No. 1 courts, respectively. Engel, this year's Pac-10 Champion and ITA April Player of the Month, has won 23 of her last 25 matches. ASU freshman Cindy Sureephong improved to 20-2 in dual play with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lindsey Gillooly on the No. 6 court, and senior Karin Palme snapped a six-match skid with an impressive 6-1, 6-0 win over UMass' Jafra Depontes on the No. 2 court.
The Devils will host No. 23 South Carolina tomorrow in the Regional Final (Second Round) at 10 a.m. (MST) at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe.
DOUBLES: 1. (12) McCoury/Brown (ASU) def. Hamilton/Mancini (UM), 8-4 2. (38) Yeats/Sureephong (ASU) def. Horak/Hyams (UM), 8-1 3. DeVera/Engel (ASU) def. Depontes/Gillooly (UM), 8-4
SINGLES: 1. (6) Adria Engel (ASU) def. Francesca Mancini (UM), 6-2, 6-0 2. Karin Palme (ASU) def. Jafra Depontes (UM), 6-1, 6-0 3. (89) Megan Yeats (ASU) def. Annie Hamilton (UM), 6-0, 6-2 4. Faye DeVera (ASU) def. Helena Horak (UM), 6-2, 6-3 5. Mhairi Brown (ASU) def. Susan Hyams (UM), 6-1, 6-1 6. Cindy Sureephong (ASU) def. Lindsey Gillooly (UM), 6-2, 6-1
SOUTH CAROLINA 4, FLORIDA STATE 2
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Behind three singles points and the doubles point, second-seeded and 23rd-ranked South Carolina women's tennis team (15-8) defeated third-seed Florida State (14-11), 4-2, today in a first round NCAA regional match at the Whiteman Tennis Center. With the victory, South Carolina advances to Sunday's regional final at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific) against the winner of the Arizona State/Massachusetts match.
USC opened the first round by claiming two of the three doubles matches for the first point. USC's Kathy Boyanovich and Jennifer Radman won their doubles match on the No. 1 court, 8-5, over FSU's Jessica Balbuena and Samantha Schoeffel. USC clinched the doubles point on the No. 3 court where Catherine Brown and Katarina Markovski defeated FSU's Natalie Carratala and Marina Raic, 8-6.
In singles action, USC went up 2-0 on the No. 5 court when Tamara Sutton quickly defeated Christina Denny in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Florida State cut the lead in half when Schoeffel downed Markovski on the No. 2 court, 6-3, 6-4. However, South Carolina quickly took a 3-1 lead on the No. 6 court when Leigh Eichelberger defeated Riac, 6-2, 6-3. FSU would not go down easy as they cut the lead back to 3-2 when Nanette Duxin won on the No. 4 court over USC's Lynn Yin Tan, 6-2, 6-4. But the Gamecocks proved to be too much and prevailed on the No. 1 court when Radman, who came from a set down, pulled out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over FSU's Alida Gallovits.
DOUBLES: 1. (31) Boyanovich/Radman (USC) def. Balbuena/Schoeffel (FSU), 8-5 2. Duxin/Gallovits (FSU) vs. (35) Eichelberger/Yin Tan (USC), DNF 3. Cahterine Brown/Markovski (USC) def. Natalie Carrarala/Raic (FSU), 8-6
SINGLES: 1. (93) Jennifer Radman (USC) def. (65) Alida Gallovits (FSU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 2. Samantha Schoeffel (FSU) def. Katarina Markovski (USC), 6-2, 6-4 3. Jessica Balbuena (FSU) vs. Kathy Boyanovich (USC), DNF 4. Nanette Duxin (FSU) def. Lynn Yin Tan (USC), 6-2, 6-4 5. Tamara Sutton (USC) def. Christina Denny (FSU), 6-1, 6-2 Leigh Eichelberger (USC) def. Marina Raic (FSU), 6-2, 6-3