Women’s tennis defeat No. 40 Ole Miss on road, 4-3

[MatRatUSF]

Oxford, Miss. (January 29, 2005) - The USF women’s tennis team passed its first test of the season, defeating No. 40 Ole Miss in Oxford, 4-3.

“The effort was great, and all of our players showed a lot of heart,†said head coach Gigi Fernandez. “I’m beyond proud and hopefully we can get noticed in the rankings.â€Â

Coming out of the gate, the Bulls dropped all three doubles matches despite a hard fought battle at the No. 2 position. The Rebels duo of Ilona Somers and Mimi Renaudin proved too much for Gabriela Duch and Louisa Obando, beating the Bulls duo, 9-8.

After the first three singles matches were complete, USF was down 3-1, going into the final three matches. Earning USF’s first win of the match and her second straight collegiate victory, freshman Courtney Vernon defeated Somers of Ole Miss, 6-2, 6-2.

After being down 3-1, the Bulls rallied back with wins at the No. 4 and 5 positions. At No. 4, Gabriela Duch downed her opponent, Nika Koukhartchouk, in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. Freshman Liz Cruz tied the score at 3-3 with a win over Mimi Renaudin at the No. 5 position, 6-4, 6-1.

With the match tied, 3-3, it came down to USF junior Louisa Obando at the No. 6 position. In dramatic fashion, Obando came back from a set down to defeat her opponent Sarah Sabin, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

“Louisa coming back from a set down was tremendous,†said Fernandez. “To win in three sets like that while cramping up the whole match shows how much heart she has.â€Â

The Bulls will look to extend their two-match win streak against the Memphis Tigers tomorrow in Memphis, Tenn. The first serve is set for 1 p.m.

USF vs. No. 40 Ole Miss

January 29, 2005

Palmer/Sollum Tennis Center

Doubles

1. No. 39 Carlotti/Tomatis (Ole Miss) def. Etienne/Vernon (USF) 8-4

2. Somers/Renaudin (Ole Miss) def. Duch/Obando (USF) 9-8

3. Koukhartchouk/Cochran (Ole Miss) def. Taverna/Cruz (USF) 8-4

* Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles

1. No. 32 Chloe Carlotti (Ole Miss) def. Neyssa Etienne (USF) 6-3, 6-1

2. Courtney Vernon (USF) def. Ilona Somers (Ole Miss) 6-2, 6-2

3. Virginia Tomatis (Ole Miss) def. Fabiana Taverna (USF) 6-3, 6-2

4. Gabriela Duch (USF) def. No. 117 Nika Koukhartchouk (Ole Miss) 6-3, 7-5

5. Liz Cruz (USF) def. Mimi Renaudin (Ole Miss) 6-4, 6-1

6. Louisa Obando (USF) def. Sarah Sabin (Ole Miss) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3

* Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1, 5, 4, 6

[smazza]

big win

[The Sheriff]

They gots to have some jet lag! Here's hoping they can hang in there tomorrow vs Memphis.

Two high profile coaches come to town and they're starting to pay dividends! First... the men's soccer coach gets us on the map early on (even though we didn't qualify for the tourney), and now Gigi has us winning against SEC teams and off to a hot start!

[Bull Matrix]

Sheriff,

I am glad you brought up Keifer and the mens soccer program. He has really kicked some azz in recruiting in bringing some great talent to USF. Hopefully, we will be more matured this season and play better down the stretch.  USF football and basketball may struggle, but at least our other programs are doing better.

[CoolBull1]

Proud of that win, Coach Gigi!  Nothing like a win over an SEC team on the road.

[79 Bull]

Women's track team won a 10-team indoor meet in Boston this weekend.

http://gobulls.usf.edu/Sports/News.asp?i=1256&s=Track

[MatRatUSF]

Women's tennis won again against Memphis, 7-0. 3 match win streak. Next match is against UCF. Always a good match!

http://gobulls.usf.edu/Sports/News.asp?i=1259&s=Tennis

[Guest AstroBull]

Awesome, hope they can keep it up.

[Guest S.  Bien]

Women's tennis won again against Memphis, 7-0. 3 match win streak. Next match is against UCF. Always a good match!

http://gobulls.usf.edu/Sports/News.asp?i=1259&s=Tennis

Finally getting that top recruit eligible with the NCAA has made all the difference in the world.  Coach Fernandez has done a good job recruiting but as we stated last year in tennis not having your #1 player throws off a team completely.  This team looks good.