April 18, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Bronco women's tennis team gained some momentum for the West Coast Conference Championships this weekend with a 4-3 victory over Fresno Pacific on Wednesday at the Degheri Tennis Center. Santa Clara handed the Sunbirds their first loss of the season with the win. After winning doubles, senior Kim Daniel, junior Lindsay McBride and senior Erika Barnes all earned singles wins for the victory. Daniel clinched the match with a clutch win at No. 4 in her last match at home.
With Myra Davoudi back in the lineup following a shoulder injury, the Broncos sent out a new doubles lineup at No. 2 and No. 3. Daniel teamed with McBride at No. 2, while Davoudi and Stephanie Galainena played No. 3. With the new lineup, the Broncos pulled out the doubles point as Davoudi and Galainena won at No. 3 8-3, while the top pair of seniors Casey Knutson and Erika Barnes continued to defeat all challengers. Knuston and Barnes topped Jelena Pandzix and Audrey Laib by an 8-6 score to clinch the doubles point.
Davoudi slid into the No. 3 slot in the singles lineup with Galainena moving to No. 2, while Knutson remained at the top. The last three spots were held down by Daniel, McBride and Barnes at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 respectively.
Barnes gave SCU a 2-0 lead with a convincing 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 in her final match at the Degheri Tennis Center. However, the Sunbirds came back to win two straight singles matches to put the pressure on the Broncos. Angelina Minova defeated Galainena 6-1, 6-0 and Anna Karavayea took down Davoudi 6-2, 6-4.
At 2-2, McBride regained the momentum for SCU with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 5. Daniel then fought through a second set tiebreaker to defeat Laib at No. 4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). Daniel was down a break at 5-4 in the second set, but came back to force the tiebreaker before handing Laib her first singles loss of the year. Her win clinched the victory for the Broncos.
The match of the day took place on court one, where Knutson gave Pandzic, one of the top players in the country, all she could handle. At the Bulldog Classic last October, Pandzic defeated Knutson 6-3, 6-0, but Wednesday's match was a much tighter affair. Knutson took the first set 6-3 with some impressive shots that kept her opponent off balance. Pandzic came back in the second set and appeared to gain control of the match with a 6-1 second-set win. However, Knutson would not back down and got out to a 3-2 lead in the third set. In the end, Pandzic had too much and pulled out a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 win.
The Broncos now head to Malibu, Calif. for the WCC Championships this weekend. SCU, seeded seventh, takes on the Saint Mary's Gaels on Friday, April 20 in the first round. Santa Clara will then play matches on Saturday and Sunday to conclude its season.
Santa Clara def. Fresno Pacific 4-3
Doubles: (Order of finish 2, 3, 1)
1. SCU Erika Barnes/Casey Knutson def. FP Audrey Laib/Jelena Pandzic 8-6
2. FP Anna Karavayeva/Angelina Minova def. SCU Kim Daniel/Lindsay McBride 8-0
3. SCU Myra Davoudi/Stephanie Galainena def. Amadine Ferot/Megan Hanner 8-3
Singles: (Order of finish 6, 2, 3, 5, 4, 1)
1. FP Jelena Pandzic def. SCU Casey Knutson 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
2. FP Angelina Minova def. SCU Stephanie Galainena 6-1, 6-0
3. FP Anna Karavayeva def. SCU Myra Davoudi 6-2, 6-4
4. SCU Kim Daniel def. FP Audrey Laib 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
5. SCU Lindsay McBride def. FP Amandine Ferot 6-1, 6-2
6. SCU Erika Barnes def. FP Megan Hanner 6-0, 6-1