Texas Tech Athletics
Oregon
Lady Raider Tennis Falls Short of Season Opener Win
January 27, 2007 | Women's Tennis
Jan. 27, 2007
LUBBOCK, Texas - The women's tennis team broke the ice at the 2007 season opener today as they hosted the No. 42 Oregon Lady Ducks at the Lubbock Country Club. This was the first meeting between No. 54 Texas Tech and No. 42 Oregon.
As customary, the day began with a series of hard-hitting doubles contests. The duo of Samantha van der Drift and freshman Kerryn Potgieter defeated Oregon, 8-5, notching in what would be Tech's only doubles victory of the day. Tech's No. 1 team of Lakann Wagley and Anne Sophie Fankam went ahead early in the match with a 6-2 score, but couldn't hold off the No. 28 nationally ranked team of Dominika Dieskova and Ana Cecilia Olivos. The Lady Ducks made a comeback late in the match capturing the win in a tie breaker 7-1.
After overcoming a 4-1 deficit, the doubles point rested on the shoulders of Tech's No. 3 pair of Maria Jose Andres and Janet Durham. The two refused to go down without a fight and headed into a tie breaker with Lady Ducks Monica Hoz de Vila and Anna Powaska. Unfortunately, the two came up short for the win losing in a tiebreaker 8-6.
After losing the doubles point, the team immediately hit the courts ready for singles competition. Senior Wagley was the first to suffer a loss at the hands of Ana Cecilia Olivos, 6-4, 6-2, putting the Lady Ducks ahead 2-0. It was Durham who sparked the turnaround for the team, getting Tech's first point by defeating Carmen Seremeta.
Next to follow was the battle of the No. 1's as Tech's van der Drift went toe-to-toe with Oregon's Dieskova. It was a hard fought battle with lead changes bouncing back and forth between the two players. In the end it was van der Drift who secured Tech's second point by defeating Dieskova in two tie-breaking sets.
The Lady Raiders third singles loss of the day came at the hands of Oregon's Anna Powaska as she defeated Fankam in three sets. Next freshman standout Potgieter had a big win over Hoz de Vila in the No. 5 spot, tying the overall score at 3-3.
The last match of the night was the battle of the sixes as Tech's Andres faced Oregon's Claudia Hirt. Andres came out strong taking the first match in a tie-breaker, 7-6 (7-1). With the pressure of the win on the line, the freshman found herself in a tough spot in her first collegiate match. Hirt's hardhitting play proved to be a bit overwhelming for Andres as she lost the next consecutive sets and came up short of the team win.
The team loss came after a six and a half hour match, however head Coach Cari Groce believes things will only get better. "We learned a lot from this first match. We have a good team and we did quite a few things very well," she said. "Unfortunately tonight, losing the doubles point came back to haunt us in the end."
The team's next match will be on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 9 a.m. as they host Alabama at the Lubbock Country Club. For more information and complete results visit www.texastech.com.
Oregon, 4, Texas Tech, 3
Doubles: 2, 1, 3*
Potgieter/van der Drift (TTU) def. Hirt/Seremeta (UO), 8-5
Dieskova/Olivos (UO) def. Fankam/Wagley (TTU), 9-8 (7-1)
Hoz de Vila/Powaska(UO) def. Andres/Durham (TTU), 9-8 (8-6)
Singles: 2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 6*
Ana Cecilia Olivos (UO) def. Lakann Wagley (TTU), 6-4, 6-2
Janet Durham (TTU) def. Carmen Seremeta (UO) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
Samantha van der Drift (TTU) def. Dominika Dieskova (UO), 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-3)
Anna Powaska (UO) def. Anne Sophie Fankam(TTU), 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
Kerryn Potgieter (TTU) def. Monica Hoz de Vila (UO) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Claudia Hirt (UO) def. Maria Jose Andres (TTU) 7-6 ( 7-3 ), 6-4, 6-2
Players Mentioned
