University of Washington
Minnesota
Huskies End Road Trip With A Bang, Downing Gophers
February 05, 2012 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 5, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - With a long homestand looming, the 28th-ranked Husky women's tennis team needed to stay focused on the task at hand in order to come home with a key road victory at Minnesota in tow. Washington did just that, taking the first four points of the match en route to a 5-2 victory, handing the Gophers (3-1) their first loss of the season.
Yesterday, the Huskies held on for a 4-3 win over 50th-ranked William & Mary. Minnesota, however, had beaten William & Mary by a 5-2 count the day before, so today looked like a tougher match-up on paper for the Huskies, but UW raised its game across the board.
After losing the doubles point yesterday, the Huskies (3-1) swept the doubles point today, which set the tone for the afternoon at Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center. Seniors Denise Dy and Samantha Smith rolled to an 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles, Andjela Nemcevic and Capucine Gregoire were 8-4 winners at second doubles, and Natali Coronel and Riko Shimizu posted an 8-3 win at the sixth spot.
Shimizu, the newest addition to the squad who joined just at the start of winter quarter, got her first singles start as well today, and she posted the clinching victory, beating Doron Muravnik, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6 singles.
10th-ranked Dy capped off a dominant weekend with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Natallia Pintusava in the No. 1 singles match. Yesterday, in UW's win over William & Mary, Dy rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win, so she surrendered just one game in four sets this weekend.
Sophomore Andjela Nemcevic stymied Yuliana Umanets at third singles, winning 6-1, 6-4 to complete a 2-0 weekend. Freshman Capucine Gregoire also won her second match in as many days, topping Julia Courter, 6-1, 7-6 (6) at fourth singles. Minnesota got a win at fifth singles where Tereza Brichacova beat Coronel, 6-1, 6-4. Samantha Smith also fell short in a third set super-tiebreak after working hard to force the third set at second singles. Alex Palen ended up with the 6-3, 6-7 (3), (10-4) victory to end the match.
Washington will now have seven straight matches at home, beginning with their home opener next Friday, Feb. 10, against Sacramento State at 2 p.m. in the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Washington Women's Tennis
Baseline Tennis Center - Minneapolis, Minn.
February 5, 2012
No. 28 Washington 5; Minnesota 2
Doubles
1. Dy/Smith (UW) def. Courter/Renault (MINN), 8-0
2. Nemcevic/Gregoire (UW) def. Palen/Brichacova (MINN), 8-4
3. Coronel/Shimizu (UW) def. Pintusava/Umanets (MINN), 8-3
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. (10) Denise Dy (UW) def. Natallia Pintusava (MINN), 6-1, 6-0
2. Alexa Palen (MINN) def. Samantha Smith (UW), 6-3, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (4)
3. Andjela Nemcevic (UW) def. Yuliana Umanets (MINN), 6-1, 6-4
4. Capucine Gregoire (UW) def. Julia Courter (MINN), 6-1, 7-6 (6)
5. Tereza Brichacova (MINN) def. Natali Coronel (UW), 6-1, 6-4
6. Riko Shimizu (UW) def. Doron Muravnik (MINN), 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 6, 5, 4, 2
