CHENEY, Wash. ? The University of Idaho women's tennis team stretched their winning streak to four matches with wins over Portland State and Eastern Washington on Sunday.
Idaho grinded out a 4-3 victory against Eastern Washington and recorded their second 6-1 victory over Portland State this season on a busy Sunday for the Vandals.
“We started off well today, jumping to early leads in the doubles matches against both Portland State and Eastern Washington,” University of Idaho women's tennis head coach Tyler Neill said. “Although I don't feel like we played our best, we played smart and with a lot of effort, which was the difference, especially against Eastern Washington.”
The Vandals started with a point in doubles thanks to victories from Yvette Ly/Alexandra Ulesanu and Natalie Kirch/Jana Siwa. Maria Perevoshchikova and Ulesanu notched straight set victories in singles. Ly clinched the matched for Idaho with a 7-6, 6-3 victory from the No. 5 spot over Kasie King.
“Yvette fought hard to come back and found a way to win by playing smart and slowing the tempo of the match down,” Neill said. “Although it isn't a style that she normally likes to play, she was willing to play it and ultimately it was the difference in the match.”
Idaho swept doubles against Portland State while Ulesanu, Siwa, Basia Maciocha, Daniel Cohen and Sophya Korotaeva recorded singles victories in straight sets as the Vandals cruised to victory.
“All week we preached the importance of getting up early to set the tone for the rest of the match,” Neill said. “We used that momentum from the doubles to take most of the singles matches as well.”
Women's tennis is idle until Mar. 12 when they will head back east for matches against Cincinnati, Robert Morris, West Virginia and Georgetown.
University of Idaho vs. Portland State University
February 22, 2009 ? Cheney, WA
Doubles
1. Cohen/Perevoshchikova (UI) def. Knox/Stocking (PSU) ? 8-2
2. Siwa/Maciocha (UI) def. Ferry/Dalkin (PSU) ? 8-2
3. Gould/Kirch (UI) def. Bravo/Gleason (PSU) ? 8-3
Singles
1. Molly Knox (PSU) def. Maria Perevoshchikova (UI) ? 6-4,7-5
2. Daniela Cohen (UI) def. Alyssa Ferry (PSU) ? 6-2,6-3
3. Basia Maciocha (UI) def. Anya Dalkin (PSU) ? 7-5,6-2
4. Alexandra Ulesanu (UI) def. Caitlin Stocking (PSU) ? 6-0,6-2
5. Jana Siwa (UI) def. Victoria Bravo (PSU) ? 6-2,6-2
6. Sophya Korotaeva (UI) def. Kylea Gleason (PSU) ? 6-2,6-2
Final: University of Idaho 6 ? Portland State University 1
University of Idaho vs. Eastern Washington University
February 22, 2009 ? Cheney, WA
Doubles
1. Mankovits/Demerath (EWU) def. Cohen/Maciocha (UI) ? 8-4
2. Ly/Ulesanu (UI) def. Berger/Liening (EWU) ? 8-4
3. Kirch/Siwa (UI) def. Bampton/King (EWU) ? 8-5
Singles
1. Maria Perevoshchikova (UI) def. Marie Demerath (EWU) ? 6-1,6-0
2. Amanda Mankovits (EWU) def. Daniela Cohen (UI) ? 6-4,6-2
3. Rachel Berger (EWU) def. Basia Maciocha (UI) ? 7-5,6-0
4. Alexandra Ulesanu (UI) def. Caitlin Bampton (EWU) ? 7-5,6-3
5. Yvette Ly (UI) def. Kasie King (EWU) ? 7-6,6-3
6. Judy Liening (EWU) def. Jana Siwa (UI) ? 7-6,7-6
Final: University of Idaho 4 ? Eastern Washington University 3
