Orlando, Fla. - UCF, East Carolina and USF all earned first-round wins in the 2017 American Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Championship on Wednesday.
The three teams advanced to the quarterfinals, which will take place on Thursday.
No. 7 USF 4, No. Temple 0
No. 7 seed USF produced a 4-0 win over No. 10 seed Temple in a morning match at the USTA National Campus.
The Bulls jumped out to a 1-0 lead after wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Vera Bessanova and Olga Martinez won 6-4 over the Owls’ Alina Abdurakhimova and Yana Khon, while Nicole Dzenga and Ana Roman Dominguez tallied a 6-2 victory over Dina Karina and Anais Nussaume of Temple.
USF increased its advantage to 3-0 following singles wins from Dzenga and Juliana Cardoso. The Bulls closed the match with a 6-0, 6-3 victory at No. 5 singles from Jessica Cortes Chaves.
USF advances to face No. 2 Tulane Thursday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT.
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Doubles Competition (Order of Finish: 3, 1)
1. Bessonova, Vera /Martinez, Olga (USF) def. Abdurakhimova, Alina /Khon, Yana, (TEM) 6-4
2. Cortes Chaves, Jessica/ Cardoso Juliana (USF) vs. Karina, Dina /Nussaume, Anais (TEM), unfinished
3. Dzenga, Nicole /Roman Dominguez, Ana (USF) def. Bedon, Mariana /Stuckey-Willis, Monet (TEM) , 6-2
Singles Competition (Order of Finish: 4,3,5,*)
1. Roman Dominguez, Ana (USF) vs Abdurakhimova, Alina (TEM), unfinished
2. Bessonova, Vera (USF) vs. Stuckey-Willis, Monet (TEM), unfinished
3. Cardoso, Juliana (USF) def Chernykh, Galina (TEM), 6-1, 6-2
4. Dzenga, Nicole (USF) def Bedon, Mariana (TEM), 6-1, 6-0
5. Cortes Chaves, Jessica (USF)def. Karina, Dina (TEM), 6-0, 6-3
6. Martinez, Olga (USF) vs. Kohn, Yana (TEM) unfinished
No. 8 UCF 4, No. 9 Houston 0
No. 8 seed UCF topped No. 9 seed Houston, 4-0, in an early afternoon match at the USTA National Campus.
The Knights produced a 6-3 win to earn the doubles point against the shorthanded Cougars. Monica Matias and Cortney Cesarini got things started with a win against the Cougars’ Lauren Alter and Sveva Mazzari after the Cougars had to forfeit the No. 3 position due to injured players. Houston also had to yield the No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots, allowing UCF to take the team victory with a win in one of the top four singles spots. The Knights got the point it would need from Cesarini, who scored a 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4 singles.
The Knights are set to play top-seeded Tulsa on Thursday at Noon ET/11 a.m. CT.
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Doubles Competition (Order of Finish: 1)
1. Matias, Monica/Cesarini, Cortney (UCF) def. Alter, Lauren/Mazzari, Sveva (HOU), 6-3
2. Granstrom, Emily/ Serrano, Natalia (UCF) vs Nicolaou, Constandena/Glumac, Ana (HOU), unfinished
3. Bagerbaseh, Elizabeth/Jimenez, Nicole (UCF) won by forfeit
Singles Competition (Order of Finish: 4)
1. Matias, Monica (UCF) vs. Mazzari, Sveva (HOU), unfinished
2. Serrano, Natalia (UCF)vs. Alter, Lauren (HOU), unfinished
3. Granstrom, Emilia (UCF)vs. Glumac, Ana (HOU), unfinished
4. Cesarini, Cortney (UCF) def Nicolaou, Constandena (HOU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Bagerbaseh, Elizabeth (UCF) won by forfeit
6. Jimenez, Nicole (UCF) won by forfeit
No. 6 East Carolina 4, No. 11 UConn 3
No. 6 seed Cincinnati scored a 4-3 victory over No.11 seed UConn in an afternoon match at the USTA National Campus.
The Pirates’ claimed the No. 1 and No. 3 spots to capture the doubles point to start the match. Celia Ruiz and Lisa Hofbauer produced a 6-1 win at No. 1, while Michelle Castro and Annija Veinsteina followed with a 6-4 win at No. 3.
East Carolina built a 3-0 lead with straight-set wins at No. 6 and No. 1 singles, but UConn battled back to tie the score with wins at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5. That left the No. 4 singles match as the clincher as Castro and UConn’s Summer Walker split the first two sets and were tied at 4-4 in the third before Castro took the final two games.
The Pirates will face No. 3 seed SMU at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT on Thursday.
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Doubles Competition (Order of Finish: 1, 3)
1. Ruiz, Celia / Hofbauer, Lisa (ECU) def. Alderman, Emma/Pletnyeva, Yelyzaveta (UCONN), 6-1
2. Gomez, Maria/Rettich, Nastja (ECU)vs. Fitz-Randolph, Jacquelyn/Perrotta, Gillian (UCONN), unfinished
3. Castro, Michelle/Veinsteina, Annija (ECU) def. Lazaro, Jacqueline/Flanagan, Shea (UCONN) 6-4
Singles Competition (Order of Finish: 6, 1, 2, 5, 3, 4)
1. Ruiz, Celia (ECU) def. Alderman, Emma (UCONN) 6-3, 6-4
2. Pletnyeva, Yelyzaveta (UCONN) def. Veinsteina, Annija (ECU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Fitz-Randolph, Jacquelyn (UCONN) Hofbauer, Lisa (ECU) 6-3, 7-5
4. Castro, Michelle (ECU) def. Walker, Summer (UCONN) (2-6), 6-3, 6-4
5. Lazaro, Jacqueline (UCONN) def. Sarjoo, Sarah (ECU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Rettich, Nastja (ECU) def. Flanagan, Shea (UCONN), 6-1, 6-1
2017 American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championship Schedule
USTA National Campus- Orlando, Fla.
Wednesday, April 19 - First Round
Match 1: No. 7 USF 4, No. 10 Temple 0
Match 2: No. 6 East Carolina 4, No. 11 UConn 3
Match 3: No. 8 UCF 4, No. 9 Houston 0
Thursday, April 20 - Quarterfinals
Match 4: UCF vs. No. 1 Tulsa – Noon ET/11 a.m. CT
Match 5: No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 4 Cincinnati - Noon ET/11 a.m. CT
Match 6: East Carolina vs. No. 3 SMU - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
Match 7: USF vs. No. 2 Tulane - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
Friday, April 21 - Semifinals
Match 8: Winner of Match 4 vs. Winner of Match 5 - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
Match 9: Winner of Match 6 vs. Winner of Match 7 - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
Saturday, April 22 - Final
Match 10: Winner of Match 8 vs. Winner of Match 9 - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
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