Tennis Drops Heartbreaker at Iowa State
March 13, 2015 05:41 PM | General
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| Sophomore Kaja Mrgole has tallied eight wins at the No. 1 slot and has won eight of her last night singles matches. |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After a hard-fought battle, the West Virginia University women’s tennis team fell to Big 12 foe Iowa State, 4-3, at the Forker Tennis Courts in Ames, Iowa, Friday afternoon.
“We gave ourselves an opportunity to be successful. The match was a battle, but we have to learn to take care of our matches from the beginning. We fell behind in doubles and on multiple courts in singles action,” said second-year coach Miha Lisac. “We are looking to be more mature and be able to do the right things in order to claim matches in those situations. Iowa State fought hard and hung in there until the very end. I give credit to Iowa State.”
The Mountaineers (9-4, 0-1 Big 12) started off slow against the Cyclones, as the team dropped back-to-back doubles matches at the No. 1 and No. 3 slot. On court one, senior Ikttesh Chahal and sophomore Kaja Mrgole fell to ISU’s Samantha Budai and Pronina Ksenia with a score of 6-2. At the No. 3 position, freshman duo Carolina Lewis and Yvon Martinez fell short to ISU’s Caroline Andersen and Alejandra Galvis (6-4).
At the No. 2 slot, junior Hailey Barrett and freshman Habiba Shaker recorded the Mountaineers only doubles victory of the day, as the duo defeated ISU’s Meghan Cassens and Ana Gasparovic (6-2). With wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 slots, the Cyclones seized an early one point advantage as the team entered singles competition.
Trailing the Cyclones 1-0, Mrgole picked up WVU’s first match point at the No. 1 position, as she dominated ISU’s Budai in straight sets (6-1, 6-1). Barrett fell to ISU’s Pronina in straight sets with a score 6-1, 6-4. At the No. 5 slot, Lewis evened out the score at 2-all, as she cruised past ISU’s Phippen with a score of 6-3, 6-3.
With the score tied at two, Chahal fell to ISU’s Caassens in three sets with a score of 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 3 position. The Cyclones held a one-point advantage before Martinez made a comeback in a three-set battle, as she bested ISU’s Andersen in the final two sets at the No. 6 slot (4-6, 6-2, 6-0).
At the No. 4 slot, Shaker fell to ISU’s Galvis in a hard-fought three-set battle. Shaker rolled past Galvis in set one, but fell in the second. Shaker battled back in the third set, but dropped the final match point in a tiebreaker with a final score of 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (13-11).
The Mountaineers return to the courts on Friday, March 20, as the team squares off against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas. The match is set to begin at Noon ET.
Singles Competition
No. 1: Kaja Mrgole (WVU) def. Samantha Budai (ISU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 2: Ksenia Pronina (ISU) def. Hailey Barrett (WVU), 6-1, 6-4
No. 3: Meghan Cassens (ISU) def. Ikttesh Chahal (WVU), 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
No. 4: Alejandra Galvis (ISU) def. Habiba Shaker (WVU), 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (13-11)
No. 5: Carolina Lewis (WVU) def. Natalie Phippen (ISU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 6: Yvon Martinez (WVU) def. Caroline Andersen (ISU), 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 2, 5, 3, 6, 4
Doubles Competition
No. 1: Samantha Budai/Pronina Ksenia (ISU) def. Ikttesh Chahal/Kaja Mrgole (WVU), 6-2
No. 2: Hailey Barrett/Habiba Shaker (WVU) def. Meghan Cassens/Ana Gasparovic (ISU), 6-2
No. 3: Caroline Andersen/Alejandra Galvis (ISU) def. Carolina Lewis/Yvon Martinez (WVU), 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
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