The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Florida State
No. 19 Women's Tennis tops No. 15 Florida State, 5-2, advances to NCAA round of 16
05.10.2008 | Women's Tennis
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- No. 19 Texas (20-6) claimed a hard-fought doubles point and captured five singles matches -- three in three sets -- to post a 5-2 victory over 15th-ranked host Florida State (19-8) Saturday evening in the round of 32 at the NCAA Tennis Championship.
The Longhorns advance to the round of 16 for the first time since 2005, when UT made a run to the national-title match against Stanford. The Horns will meet the same round-of-16 opponent from 2005, third-seeded defending NCAA Champion Georgia Tech, in the round of 16 on Thursday, May 15 in Tulsa, Okla.
Texas assumed a 1-0 lead after taking two of three doubles matches to capture the doubles point. The Horns opened with a win at first doubles, as sophomore Vanja Corovic and junior Marija Milic dealt Katie Rybakova and Ania Rynarzewska an 8-3 defeat. The Seminoles' Jessica Wente and Lauren Macfarlane responded with an 8-5 win at third doubles over Texas senior Courtney Zauft and freshman Maggie Mello, leaving the fate of the doubles point to be decided at the second slot. UT sophomore Stephanie Davison and freshman Caroline Larsson rose to the occasion, defeating Florida State's Carolin Walter and Federica Suess in a tiebreaker, 9-8.
Texas pushed its lead to 2-0 when sophomore Sarah Lancaster defeated the Seminoles' Suess at the sixth position, 6-2, 6-4. Florida State commenced its rally at fifth singles, where Tapiwa Marobela knocked off UT's Mello, 7-5, 6-3. FSU evened the tally at two when Macfarlane rallied from one set down at second singles to defeat UT's Zauft, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
After winning her first set at first singles over FSU's Rybakova, Texas' Corovic relinquished the second set in a tiebreaker before rebounding in dominant fashion in the third set, winning 6-2 to put the Horns back in the lead, 3-2. Larsson and Davison engaged in a pair of lengthy three-set matches at the third and fourth positions, and they emerged with victories.
Larsson knocked off Jessica Wente at fourth singles, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, and Davison outlasted Walter in a tiebreaker at second singles, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6.
NCAA Women's Tennis Championship - Round of 32
Speicher Tennis Center - Tallahassee, Fla.
No. 19 Texas 5, No. 15 Florida State 2
Doubles - Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
1. Corovic/Milic (UT) def. Katie Rybakova/Ania Rynarzewska (FSU) - 8-3
2. Davison/Larsson (UT) def. Walter/Suess (FSU) - 9-8
3. Wente/Macfarlane (FSU) def. Mello/Zauft (UT) - 8-5
Singles - Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2, 1, 4, 3
1. Vanja Corovic (UT) def. Katie Rybakova (FSU) - 6-2, 6-7, 6-2
2. Lauren Macfarlane (FSU) def. Courtney Zauft (UT) - 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
3. Stephanie Davison (UT) def. Carolin Walter (FSU) - 5-7, 6-4, 7-6
4. Caroline Larsson (UT)def. Jessica Wente (FSU) - 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
5. Tapiwa Marobela (FSU) def. Maggie Mello (UT) - 7-5, 6-3
6. Sarah Lancaster (UT)def. Federica Suess (FSU) - 6-2, 6-4
POST-MATCH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Patty Fendick-McCain
We got off to a great start in doubles. The ladies played fantastic throughout the doubles; they were focused and positive, and it was great tennis. In singles, we got off to another great start by winning the first sets in four of the matches. Everyone was playing well and fighting hard. They played so well, and I'm so, so proud of them all. It's a really difficult thing to get through to the NCAA round of 16 when you're playing a host school in the round of 32.
The crowd was really tough, we were playing under the lights, and we had to wait for the previous match to finish. We didn't get finished until about 10:45 p.m. (Eastern time). We had the simultaneous match points in the end from Stephanie Davison and Caroline Larsson, and from there, it was absolute pandemonium. It was fantastic and just awesome! We took a physical toll from playing in the heat, but they overcame all of the obstacles to get a tough win here. We're really excited to meet Georgia Tech in Tulsa (in the NCAA round of 16).
