March 23, 2008

DENTON, Texas - The Marquette women's tennis team won the doubles point, but North Texas rallied in singles play to defeat the Golden Eagles, 4-3, Sunday afternoon in Denton, Texas. With the loss, MU falls to 7-11 on the dual season.

Marquette got off to a great start by winning the doubles point and taking an early 1-0 lead. The No. 2 duo of senior Beba Calbeto and freshman Christina Ruiz rolled to the first doubles' victory of the day, 8-1, over Rachel Wilhelm and Narine Kazarova. The No. 3 pair of senior Erin Watkins and freshman Rachael Hush followed by taking down their Mean Green counterparts, Amy Joubert and Idalina Franca, 8-4. Senior Shannon Brown and junior Lauren Little anchored the doubles' sweep with an 8-6 win at No. 1 over Madura Ranganathan and Catalina Cruz.

However, the Golden Eagles couldn't carry the momentum into singles play and the Mean Green (9-7) rallied to win three straight singles matches to take a commanding 3-1 lead.

"Our doubles teams played really well, and they set the tone for the rest of the match," said head coach Jody Bronson. "In singles we came out flat and could have been sharper. I wish we would have stepped up and took charge of the match. Instead, we found ourselves fighting from behind."

North Texas tied the score, 1-1, when Watkins fell in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, to Ranganathan at No. 1. The Mean Green went ahead 3-1 after Ruiz and sophomore Elly Strother each lost at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.

Marquette countered with back-to-back wins from Brown and Calbeto leaving the match up to Hush at No. 3. Brown defeated Shannon MacKenzie at No. 6 in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, and Calbeto pulled out a 7-5, 7-5 win over Catalina Cruz at No. 2. In the final match of the day, Hush won the first set, 6-4, but was unable to hold on falling 6-3, 6-4 in the final two sets to Kazarova.

The Golden Eagles will return to action on Sunday, March 30 for a pair of matches against BIG EAST Conference foes Connecticut and Providence in Hartford, Conn. The Golden Eagles match with the Huskies will begin at 8 a.m. CT, and MU will take on PC at 1:30 p.m. CT.

North Texas 4, Marquette 3

Singles competition:
1. Madura Ranganathan (NT) def. Erin Watkins (MARQ) 6-0, 6-0
2. Beba Calbeto (MARQ) def. Catalina Cruz (NT) 7-5, 7-5
3. Narine Kazarova (NT) def. Rachael Hush (MARQ) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Idalina Franca (NT) def. Christina Ruiz (MARQ) 6-1, 6-2
5. Amy Joubert (NT) def. Elly Strother (MARQ) 6-1, 6-2
6. Shannon Brown (MARQ) def. Shannon MacKenzie (NT) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1

Doubles competition:
1. Shannon Brown/Lauren Little (MARQ) def. Madura Ranganathan/Catalina Cruz (NT) 8-6
2. Beba Calbeto/Christina Ruiz (MARQ) def. Rachel Wilhelm/Narine Kazarova (NT) 8-1
3. Rachael Hush/Erin Watkins (MARQ) def. Amy Joubert/Idalina Franca (NT) 8-4