Feb. 12, 2011
Richmond, VA - The UT Arlington women's tennis team missed their first two matches due to inclement weather but finally got their chance to start their season against VCU Saturday afternoon.
Despite a 5-2 loss to the Rams, assistant coach Marco Matteucci wasn't disappointed in the Mavericks overall performance.
"I think despite the loss we came out with our heads up against a team that is ranked 30 in the nation," said Matteucci. "I think that the girls see the potential they have this year to make a mark in the national rankings. If we keep up at this pace I think that by the middle of the season we could achieve our goal to be nationally ranked and stay there by the end of the year."
UT Arlington opened the match with doubles competition with the Mavs falling in all three flights. In the No. 1 position, Daiana Negreanu and Natalia Mayuk dropped an 8-1 decision to Kateryna Yergina and Ana Bara.
Aqvist and Giada D'ortona put up a fight in the No. 2 doubles but came up short, falling 8-6 to Hjertquist and Alex Bara. Maria Martinez-Romero and Nikola Matovicova also fought hard in the No. 3 spot but the duo came up short, dropping an 8-6 decision against Daria Yakavleva and Manuela Pietzuch.
"The girls competed very well in the No.2 and 3 doubles. They were very close and it came down just to a few points," Matteucci said.
The Mavericks moved to singles action where they recorded wins in the No. 2 and 3 flights.
Freshman Linda Aqvist started off the year on a high not by defeating Josefine Hjertquist who is ranked No. 68 in singles. The talented freshman recorded a 6-3, 4-6 and 6-4 win in the No. 2 singles position.
Martinez-Romero was the other Maverick to earn a win in singles play. The junior notched a three-set win against Ana Bara with scores of 6-4, 4-6 and 6-2.
In the top flight, Negreanu dropped a 6-3, 6-4 decision to Yergina while Mayuk fell in the fourth flight to Alex Bara, 6-2, 6-4.
D'ortona suffered a 7-5, 6-1 setback to Yalavleva in the No. 5 flight while Matovicova lost a 6-0, 6-3 decision to Olga Toterteac.
The Mavericks continue tennis action tomorrow with a 10 a.m. match up against Old Dominion in Norfolk, VA.
