Feb. 22, 2006
Santa Clara, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's tennis team will attempt to capture their fourth and fifth dual match victories of the season this upcoming weekend when they host UC Davis on Friday and No. 68 Pacific the following day at the Degheri Tennis Center. Game time is set for 3 and 1 p.m., respectively.
The Aggies enter Friday's match-up sporting an overall record of 1-5. Last weekend, UC Davis took on visiting Nevada and dropped a 6-1 decision, with Robin Guier winning her fourth straight match to register her team's only point in the dual match. Ally Mueller and Audrey Wingo are also among the top players on the team in both singles and doubles. Bill Mize is in his 11th season as the head coach of the UC Davis women's tennis program and has compiled an overall record of 127-89 under his tenure.
"Davis is an extremely scrappy team. If you look at them, they don't seem overpowering, but they are very crafty," stated head coach Damon Coupe. "Our team is going to have to be extremely mentally tough to beat them."
The Tigers will come to the Mission Campus boasting a national ranking of No. 68. Pacific owns an overall record of 5-3, though it will host Sacramento State on Friday before traveling down to Santa Clara. Senior Natalia Kostenko and junior Vana Mrazovic stabilize the top of the singles ladder, while freshmen Jolanta Twarowska and Carla Tamborini have provided the necessary support in both singles and doubles to make their team successful. In his fourth year as the head coach of the Pacific women's tennis program, Bob Chiene has accumulated an overall mark of 39-28 during his stay in Stockton, Calif.
"Pacific is ranked and they are solid all the way down the line-up. They are going to be tough and not going to be rattled by anything," said Coupe. "We'll have to play with nothing to lose and we've also got to believe in ourselves in order to beat them."
