Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Tulsa (Conference USA Tournament-Houston)
Tulsa Takes C-USA Championship Title over Marshall, 4-1
4/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Complete Release in PDF Format 
April 20, 2008
HOUSTON, TEXAS - The No. 50 nationally-ranked Marshall University's women's tennis team fell to the 48th-ranked Tulsa University, 4-1, Sunday morning in the final round of the Conference USA Championships at the University of Houston and John E. Hoff Courts. The No. 2 seed Thundering Herd squad finished its season 17-9 overall while the No. 1 seed Golden Hurricane's ended 21-5.
Tulsa improved its all-time series lead over Marshall, 2-0.
The Golden Hurricane's duo of Thalia Diaz-Barriga and Marta Marcinkowska took an 8-2 decision over Jeanne Schwartz (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Isabell Raich (Klaus, Austria) at the number two mark.
However, the Herd's 31st-ranked pair of Kellie Schmitt (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Karolina Soor (Lindesberg, Sweden) defeated Alxandra Kichoutkin and Carla Zabaleta, 8-5, at the number one position. Playing the number three slot, Jessica Keener (Reston, Va.) and Thaddea Lock (Bristol, England) took an 8-5 advantage over Jie Zeng and Rebecca Row to clench the doubles point.
Marshall led Tulsa, 1-0, going into singles competition.
"Tulsa did a good job coming back after losing the doubles point," Marshall's head coach John Mercer said. "We did an excellent job working hard to put us in a position to win but ran out of gas at the end."
The Golden Hurricane tied the Herd after Row defeated Raich, 6-3, 6-1, at the number four mark. Diaz-Barriga took a 6-1, 6-4, over Schwartz at the number two. Then Marcinkowska defeated Lock 6-2, 6-1 at the number five to put Tulsa over Marshall, 3-1.
The 125th-ranked Kichoutkin upset Schmitt (53rd), 7-6, 6-1, at the number one to capture the Golden Hurricane's victory.
Soor and Keener did not have a chance to finish their matches at the three and six positions.
"Really proud of the girls on how well they competed this weekend," Coach Mercer added. "Hope to bounce back and get it next year."
Today's contest was a re-match of the 2007 championship, where Tulsa took a 4-0 victory.
Complete brackets on the C-USA women's tennis championship are available at http://conferenceusa.cstv.com/championships/08-w-tennis-championship.html or at http://herdzone.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mars-w-tennis-body.html.
Marshall vs Tulsa
4/20/2008 at Houston, Texas
#48 Tulsa 4, #50 Marshall 1
Singles competition
1. #125 Alxandra Kichoutkin (TLSW) def. #53 Kellie Schmitt (MAR) 7-6, 6-1
2. Thalia Diaz-Barriga (TLSW) def. Jeanne Schwartz (MAR) 6-1, 6-4
3. Carla Zabaleta (TLSW) vs. Karolina Soor (MAR) unfinished
4. Rebecca Row (TLSW) def. Isabell Raich (MAR) 6-3, 6-1
5. Marta Marcinkowska (TLSW) def. Thaddea Lock (MAR) 6-2, 6-1
6. Agostina Sontoro (TLSW) vs. Jessica Keener (MAR) unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #31 Karolina Soor/Kellie Schmitt (MAR) def. Alxandra Kichoutkin/Carla Zabaleta (TLSW) 8-5
2. Thalia Diaz-Barriga/Marta Marcinkowska (TLSW) def. Jeanne Schwartz/Isabell Raich (MAR) 8-2
3. Jessica Keener/Thaddea Lock (MAR) def. Jie Zeng/Rebecca Row (TLSW) 8-5
Match Notes:,
Marshall 17-9; National ranking #50
Tulsa 21-5; National ranking #48
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (4,2,5,1)
2008 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship Match
Players Mentioned
