Florida Gators
NCAA Singles & Doubles QF
Gators Reach Semis of NCAA W-Tennis Doubles
Thursday, May 22, 2003 | Women's Tennis
The University of Florida's Jennifer Magley (Bradenton, FL) and Zerene Reyes (Mexico City, Mexico) continued their impressive play on Thursday when then upset third-seeded Sarah Riske and Aleke Tsoubanos from Vanderbilt 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Championships.
The Gator tandem next face Kentucky's Sarah Witten and Amy Trefethen on Friday at 12 Noon at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex. The Wildcat duo upset Stanford's top-seeded Lauren Barnikow and Erin Burdette 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a match lasting two hours and 41 minutes.
This is the third consecutive season a Gator doubles team has advanced to the NCAA Semifinals, and the sixth time in the last eight years UF will be represented in this stage of the event. Overall, Gator doubles teams have compiled a 5-4 record in the NCAA Semifinal round, with four eventually winning the doubles crown.
Friday will be the first meeting between the UF and UK pairs. When the schools met during the dual match season on March 14, Magley and Reyes were playing the No. 3 position in the lineup, while Witten and Trefethen have been the Wildcat's No. 1 duo for the majority of the year.
Florida jumped out to a quick two-break lead to start today's match, fending off one game-point to take a 4-0 lead. Vanderbilt finally got on the board with a break in the next game before Riske held serve at love to inch closer at 4-2. But Reyes fired back with a love game of her own, as the remainder of set was played on-serve, including the ninth and final game that lasted 13 points. In that game, Florida jumped out to a 40-love lead before a number of unforced errors resulted in duce. Vanderbilt even held one break point during that game, but couldn't finish, as the Gators closed out the first set as Magley blasted a forehand that Riske volleyed into the net.
Vanderbilt lost just two point in the opening two games of the second set to take a 2-0 lead. But the Gators rallied on Tsoubanos' serve and got the match back on serve after Reyes held in the next game. UF then earned another break on Riske's serve and Magley followed with an impressive service game to give UF a 4-2 lead. Vanderbilt won the first three points on Tsoubanos' game in the seventh game, but the Gators ripped off the next five points to earn an important break to take a 5-2 lead with the serve. Reyes lost just one point on her next serve, as Magley's poach landed for a winner to end the match.
"Both of them (Riske and Tsoubanos) have great hands, but that have more difficulty volleying balls at their feet and I thought that was a key for us to hit the ball down low at their feet so that we would get the ball that we want to poach and cross," Magley said. "The main key for us is to stay positive and keep our feet moving. At this point in the tournament, it's more about heart and determination than it is basically skill. We've played a lot of matches over the last few days, but we keep trying our hardest. If we keep fighting, I think we can continue to do well."
Thursday's contest was the second meeting this season between the Florida and Vanderbilt pairs, which also met in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Team Championships, where the Gator duo posted an 8-4 upset in that May 16th outing.
NCAA Women's Tennis Singles & Doubles Championships
Ring Tennis Complex, Gainesville, FL
Thursday, May 22, 2003
NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championships Quarterfinals
(1) Vilmarie Castellvi, Tennessee d. (9-16) Mira Radu, Ole Miss 6-4, 6-1 (1:31)
(4) Agata Cioroch, Georgia d. (6) Racquel Kops-Jones, Cal 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-2 (2:22)
(5) Amber Liu, Stanford d. Alice Pirsu, Pennsylvania 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 (2:10)
(8) Jewel Peterson, Southern Calif. d. (2) Cristelle Grier, Northwestern 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 (2:19)
NCAA Women's Tennis Doubles Championship Quarterfinals
(5-8) Sarah Witten/Amy Trefethen, Kentucky d. (1) Lauren Barnikow/Erin Burdette, Stanford 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 (2:41)
(5-8) Jennifer Magley/Zerene Reyes, Florida d. (3) Sarah Riske/Aleke Tsoubanos, Vanderbilt 6-3, 6-2 (1:21)
Silvia Urickova/Barbora Zahnova, VCU d. Courtney Nagle/Daria Panova, Oregon 6-2, 6-2 (1:25)
(5-8) Christina Fusano/Raquel Kops-Jones, Cal d. (2) Agata Cioroch/Lori Grey, Georgia 6-4, 6-2 (1:45)
(Length of each match recorded after scores)
END OF REPORT
