Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
SMU
No. 59 Marshall Defeats No. 27 SMU, Advances to C-USA Championship Match
4/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 24, 2010
TULSA, Okla. - The No. 59 Marshall University women's tennis team knocked off No. 27 SMU Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Conference USA Championships at the University of Tulsa and will play No. 35 Tulsa Sunday morning with the C-USA title and an NCAA team berth on the line.
The Herd (19-6) made history with the win against the defending C-USA champions as MU defeated its highest nationally-ranked opponent in program history. Marshall looks to capture its first ever C-USA title with a win Sunday.
"Today was the best tennis we have played all year," Head Coach John Mercer said. "We had a great mental approach, and it started in doubles and carried over into singles. We battled in every match and it was a great team effort."
The Thundering Herd started the afternoon by taking the doubles point, as MU did in its quarterfinal match against UCF. Isabell Raich and Kara Kucin downed Pavi Francis and Shahzoda Hatamova 8-5 in second doubles, while Deanna Bailey and Thaddea Lock topped Edyta Cieplucha and Casey Kennedy in third doubles, 8-2.
Marshall received its three singles victories on courts four, five and six, all in straight sets. Catherine Kellner won in fourth singles by a score of 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 against Hatamova. Bailey trumped Cieplucha 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 on court five, and Kristina Koprcina defeated Francis in sixth singles, 6-4, 6-1.
In a battle between the top two singles players in the conference, No. 40 Michaela Kissell and No. 29 Marta Lesniak left their match unfinished with Lesniak leading 7-6 (7-4), 6-6. The match had already been decided in favor of Marshall.
Tomorrow's match with the Golden Hurricane will be a rematch from a March 28th contest when the two sides meet in Louisville, Ky. Tulsa squeaked by the Herd with a 4-3 victory.
The Championship match between fourth-seeded Marshall and second-seeded Tulsa is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. CST. Fans can follow live stats by logging on to http://conferenceusa.cstv.com/championships/10-w-tennis-championship.html
Players Mentioned
