Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Denver
Herd Tennis Earns Win Over No. 45 Ranked Denver Pioneers
3/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 21, 2006
Coral Gables, Fla. - The Thundering Herd tennis team picked up an impressive win over No. 45 ranked Denver Tuesday afternoon, 4-3, in Coral Gables, Fla., on the campus of the University of Miami.
Freshmen Kellie Schmitt and Jessica Keener stepped up to seal the match for the Thundering Herd with wins at No. 2 and 6 singles, respectively. With the 4-3 victory over the Pioneers, Marshall improves to 13-5 overall and Denver falls to 6-7.
The win over the 45th ranked team in the country marks the second of the year for the Herd over a ranked opponent.
"We're really excited about today's win," Marshall head coach John Mercer said. "We played a really good team that is very disciplined and well coached."
The Pioneers have wins this season over two teams ranked in the top 40, No. 39, Iowa and No. 26, Alabama.
"For us to win against a team that makes you earn all your points, it says a lot about the effort we gave out there today," Mercer said.
The Herd definitely needed a strong effort against the Pioneers as it came down to No. 6 singles where Keener battled Lorinda Boothman. The second set went back and forth as Keener held on to a 4-3 lead in the cat and mouse battle. The Herd freshman would then prevail in the next two games with for a 6-3, 6-3 win to seal the match for Marshall. Keener ended her match on an ace.
The Herd jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the match as they took the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Karolina Soor and Shannon Brown defeated Rachel Sackmaster and Kyla Iwinski 9-7 at No. 2 and Jeanne Schwartz and Keener were 8-6 winners on court three over Marisa Mechem and Boothman.
Denver won from the No. 1 position 7-5 in a tiebreaker as Suzana Maksovic and Annette Aksdal defeated Lynzee Kever and Schmitt 9-8 (5).
In singles, the Herd would pick up the three wins it needed from Keener, Schmitt and Schwartz at the No. 3 position.
Schmitt put away an overhead to end it at No. 2 singles as she downed Aksdal 6-1, 7-5. Schmitt continues to roll at the No. 2 position for the Herd with only three losses this spring. Schwartz also continued her impressive play from the No. 3 spot for the Herd with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Sackmaster.
Denver had wins at Nos. 1, 4 and 5. At No. 1, No. 89 ranked Maksovic defeated Kever 6-2, 6-4 while Iwinski beat Brown 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4. Mechem picked up a 6-3, 6-1 win over Soor on court five for Denver's third point.
The Herd will return tomorrow from Florida with a two wins and no losses with the triumphs over Denver and Florida Atlantic. Marshall will then play No. 20 ranked William and Mary next Saturday on senior day for Holly Asel.
Players Mentioned
