Fresno State Athletics
Shutouts Abound in First Round Women's Bracket Matches
4/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 27, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - No. 43 SMU, No. 40 Tulsa, No. 25 TCU and No. 10 Fresno State were all winners of first round competition at the 2001 WAC Tennis Championship Tournament Friday afternoon at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center.
No.43 SMU, the tournament's No. 4 seed, posted a 4-0 shutout against Nevada in the opening match of the day. SMU recorded doubles victories at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots of the lineup to claim the doubles point. The Mustangs then took three singles matches from Nevada, the tournament's No. 5 seed. Highlighting singles play was Dee Dee Herring, ranked No. 48 nationally, defeating Nevada's top player, Tjasa Jezernik 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Kit Carson and Siayareh Rambally notched wins at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. SMU will play Fresno State at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinals.
No. 25 TCU earned a 4-0 win against Rice, the tournament's No. 7 seed, in another first round match. TCU, the tournament's No. 2 seed, picked up doubles wins at Nos. 1 and 3 to capture the doubles point. No. 1 singles Katrin Gaber defeated Rice's Erin Waters 6-2, 6-3 to lead the Horned Frogs in singles competition. Leoni Weirich won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles, while Rosa Perez scored a 6-2, 6-3 triumph at No. 4 singles to round out the scoring. The Horned Frogs face Tulsa in the semifinals Saturday at 10 a.m.
No. 40 Tulsa, the tournament's No. 3 seed, blanked UTEP 4-0 in an afternoon match. Tulsa's top two doubles squads posted 8-0 and 8-4 victories, respectively, to pick up the doubles point. Marjoleen Van Dongen clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles. Alexsandra Durska defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, and Jennifer DeSpain won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3. Tulsa will battle TCU in the semifinals Saturday.
No. 10 Fresno State, the tournament's No. 1 seed, easily defeated Hawaii 4-0. The teams of Kim Niggemeyer and Simone Jardim, along with Kelly Ramirez and Chantel Wiggins posted 8-2 victories at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots, respectively. Niggemeyer, Jardim and Liesl Fichtabauer racked up straight set wins at the Nos. 1, 2 an 3 singles spots of the lineup to clinch the match victory for the Bulldogs. Fresno State, winners of seven in a row, will continue their quest to become only the third women's WAC team to ever win the WA C Championship as a host on Saturday, against SMU at 2 p.m.
