Morgantown, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s tennis team stumbled early, but ultimately held on to win Saturday against the University at Buffalo, 4-3, at the Miller Tennis Center in Buffalo, New York.
“It was a good battle today and a good team win,” fourth-year coach Miha Lisac said. “We we didn’t start the match as we wanted to, but had a big comeback in singles.”
The Bulls started off the match with a 1-0 advantage after taking the doubles point. Tanja Stojanovska and Margarita Kotok defeated senior Kaja Mrgole and freshman Christina Jordan, 6-4, at the No. 1 position. On the second court, freshman Sofia Duran made her Mountaineer debut with teammate Habiba Shaker, but ultimately fell to Buffalo’s Cantal Martinez Blanco and Anna Savchenko, 6-4. WVU’s lone doubles win came when Paula Goetz and Lyn Yuen Choo topped Laura Holterbosch and Mercedes Losada Rubio, 6-1, at No. 3.
The Mountaineers were able to secure the victory by taking four of the six singles matches. Shaker dropped Stojanovska in a close, three-set battle, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4), at No. 1. With the win, Shaker improved to a team-best 5-2 in singles play this year.
Goetz was able to knock off Losada Rubio in two sets, 6-2 and 6-4, at No. 3. Choo was also to pick up the win over Holterbosch, 6-3 and 6-4, on the fifth court. Jordan was the final Mountaineer to earn a victory after surviving a close second set to defeat Emel Abibula, 6-4 and 7-5, at No.4.
“Lyn Yuen (Choo), Paula (Goetz), and Christina (Jordan) were able to take care of business and Habiba (Shaker) was a clinching point at the end in a great comeback on her court,” Lisac continued. “All of the players showed good resilience today in singles and we battled as well as we did in previous matches.”
At No. 2, Kaja Mrgole fell to Martinez Blanco, 6-4 and 6-4, while Martinez fell to Savchenko when she retired in the third set, 6-4, 3-6, and 3-4.
West Virginia will now return to the Mountain State for a pair of rivalry matches against Virginia Tech on February 18 and Marshall on February 19. Both matches are slated to begin at noon. Live stats and a recap of both matches will be available at WVUsports.com
Singles Competition:
No. 1: Habiba Shaker (WVU) def. Tanja Stojanovska (UB) - 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4)
No. 2: Chantal Martinez Blanco (UB) def. Kaja Mrgole (WVU) - 6-4, 6-4
No. 3: Paula Goetz (WVU) def. Mercedes Losada Rubio (UB) - 6-2, 6-4
No. 4: Christina Jordan (WVU) def. Emel Abibula (UB) - 6-4, 7-5
No. 5: Lyn Yuen Choo (WVU) def. Laura Holterbosch (UB) - 6-3, 6-4
No. 6: Anna Savchenko (UB) def. Yvon Martinez (WVU) - 6-4, 3-6, 3-4 (ret.)
Doubles competition:
No. 1: Tanja Stojanovska/Margarita Kotok (UB) def. Kaja Mrgole/Christina Jordan (WVU) - 6-3
No. 2: Chantal Martinez Blanco/Anna Savchenko (UB) def. Habiba Shaker/Sofia Duran (WVU) - 6-4
No. 3: Paula Goetz/Lyn Yuen Choo (WVU) def. Laura Holterbosch/Mercedes Losada Rubio (UB) - 6-1
