April 13, 2007
SAN DIEGO - The 56th-ranked San Diego State women's tennis team returned to Mountain West Conference play on Friday with an electrifying 4-3 victory over No. 27 Brigham Young at Aztec Tennis Center. SDSU overcame a 3-1 deficit in singles action, winning the final three matches of the afternoon to pull off the dramatic upset. Junior Eliska Krausova captured the deciding point at the No. 2 position, helping the Aztecs improve to 13-9 overall and 5-1 in league play. Meanwhile with the defeat, the Cougars slip to 17-6 on the season and 6-1 in the MWC.
Doubles competition was no charm for the Scarlet and Black on Friday the 13th as BYU took two of three encounters to grab an early 1-0 lead. The Aztec tandem of Krausova and Sisse Nielsen was the first to experience the Cougars' wrath after suffering an 8-5 setback to Lauren Jones and Dolly Chang at the No. 2 spot. The visitors then clinched the point when the 49th-ranked duo of Anastasia Surkova and Jennifer Miccoli prevailed by an identical 8-5 count over Alesya Vidov and Milana Yusupov on the No. 1 court. SDSU was able to prevent a sweep when the team of Holly Bagshaw and Kathryn Kitts outlasted Kristina Doerr and Sofia Holden, 9-7, at No. 3.
BYU went ahead 2-0 in singles play as Vidov was unable to solve Surkova for the second time of the day, dropping a 6-3, 6-4 decision on the No. 1 court. Moments later, SDSU finally got on the scoreboard after Bagshaw emerged victorious for the eighth time in nine tries with a 6-1, 6-2 pasting of Chie Hayasaka at the No. 3 position. The Cougars restored their two-point advantage shortly thereafter, however, as Nielsen saw her seven-match winning streak come to an end at the hands of Chang, 6-4, 6-4, at the sixth spot.
At this juncture, the Aztecs mounted their comeback when Esther Cadua knocked off Holden, 6-2, 6-4, at the fifth position, which brought the Scarlet and Black to within striking distance at 3-2. Over at No. 4, Yusupov was looking down the barrel of a one-set deficit in her encounter with Doerr before storming back in compelling fashion, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, to tie the score at 3-3.
All eyes then turned to the No. 2 court where Krausova and Jones waged a marathon battle for the winning point. After surviving a close call early on, the Aztec junior ran into difficulty midway through the match as her Cougar adversary forced a third and deciding set. Unfazed, Krausova went back to work, securing the match on a service break to give SDSU its fourth straight victory and its eighth in nine outings.
San Diego State continues its MWC slate this weekend when it squares off against Utah on Saturday, April 14 at Aztec Tennis Center. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m. PDT.
No. 56 SAN DIEGO STATE 4, No. 27 BRIGHAM YOUNG 3
April 13, 2007
Aztec Tennis Center--San Diego, Calif.
Doubles:
1. #49 Anastasia Surkova/Jennifer Miccoli (BYU) def. Alesya Vidov/Milana Yusupov (SDSU), 8-5.
2. Lauren Jones/Dolly Chang (BYU) def. Eliska Krausova/Sisse Nielsen (SDSU), 8-5.
3. Holly Bagshaw/Kathryn Kitts (SDSU) def. Kristina Doerr/Sofia Holden (BYU), 9-7.
Brigham Young wins doubles point
Singles:
1. # 118 Anastasia Surkova (BYU) def. Alesya Vidov (SDSU), 6-3, 6-4.
2. Eliska Krausova (SDSU) def. Lauren Jones (BYU), 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3.
3. Holly Bagshaw (SDSU) def. Chie Hayasaka (BYU), 6-1, 6-2.
4. Milana Yusupov (SDSU) def. Kristina Doerr (BYU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
5. Esther Cadua (SDSU) def. Sofia Holden (BYU), 6-2, 6-4.
6. Dolly Chang (BYU) def. Sisse Nielsen (SDSU), 6-4, 6-4.
Order of finish
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 1, 3, 6, 5, 4, 2*
*match-clinching victory