Feb. 2, 2007
HONOLULU - San Diego State senior Alesya Vidov (Moscow, Russia) helped secure the crucial doubles point and later claimed the deciding singles match, as the 35th-ranked SDSU women's tennis team fought off a pesky Hawai'i squad, 4-3, Thursday night at the UH Tennis Complex. With the victory, the Aztecs improve to 3-1 on the season, while the Rainbow Wahine fall to 1-4.
SDSU got off on the right foot in doubles competition, as the tandem of Kathryn Kitts (Yardley, Pa.) and Sisse Nielsen (Alleroed, Denmark) dispatched the Hawai'i duo of Florence Wasko and Chloe Bihag, 8-2, at the No. 3 position. In the No. 2 spot, Vidov teamed with Ozge Atalay (Istanbul, Turkey) to turn back the Wahine pairing of Julia Hodes and Jacqui Williams, 8-6, giving the Scarlet and Black an early 1-0 lead.
Hawai'i quickly knotted the score in singles play after Bihag dealt Nielsen a straight-set defeat, 6-2, 6-0, on the No. 4 court. The Aztecs then reclaimed a 2-1 advantage when Kitts outlasted Williams, 7-5, 6-4, at the No. 5 slot. The Wahine would not go away quietly, however, as Sophie Kobuch turned the tables on sophomore Esther Cadua (San Diego, Calif.) by an identical 7-5, 6-4 count.
With the score tied at 2-2, SDSU withstood a pair of three-set challenges by Hawai'i at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, to escape with the victory. Junior Eliska Krausova (Prague, Czech Republic) encountered some difficulty in the second set of her encounter with Kana Aikawa, but still prevailed, 6-3, 1-6, 6-0. Vidov, meanwhile, overcame a sluggish start against Hodes to win going away, 1-6, 6-0, 6-2.
The Aztecs will remain in Honolulu to face No. 55 UC Irvine in a neutral-site match on Saturday, Feb. 3, starting at 11 a.m. HST at the UH Tennis Complex.
No. 35 SAN DIEGO STATE 4, HAWAII 3
Feb. 1, 2007
UH Tennis Complex--Honolulu, Hawaii
Doubles:
1. Kana Aikawa/Sophie Kobuch (UH) def. Eliska Krausova/Esther Cadua (SDSU), 9-7.
2. Alesya Vidov/Ozge Atalay (SDSU) def. Julia Hodes/Jacqui Williams (UH), 8-6.
3. Kathryn Kitts/Sisse Nielsen (SDSU) def. Florence Wasko/Chloe Bihag (UH), 8-2.
SDSU wins doubles point
Singles:
1. No. 69 Eliska Krausova (SDSU) def. Kana Aikawa (UH), 6-3, 1-6, 6-0.
2. Alesya Vidov (SDSU) def. Julia Hodes (UH), 1-6, 6-0, 6-2.
3. Sophie Kobuch (UH) def. Esther Cadua (SDSU), 7-5, 6-4.
4. Chloe Bihag (UH) def. Sisse Nielsen (SDSU), 6-2, 6-0.
5. Kathryn Kitts (SDSU) def. Jacqui Williams (UH), 7-5, 6-4.
6. Samanta Cappella (UH) def. Yuki Hagiwara (SDSU), 7-5, 6-4.
Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 2, 1
Singles: 4, 5, 3, 1, 2*, 6
*match-securing victory