March 16, 2008

Results

Los Angeles, CA - No. 45 Saint Mary's women's tennis was edged by West Coast Conference opponent Loyola Marymount Sunday afternoon. The Lions (5-9) won the doubles point along with the deciding match point to beat the Gaels (8-4) 4-3 at the LMU Tennis Center.

The Gaels' Marah Calvo and Stef Ordoveza beat Jasmin Heckel and Caroline Nothnagel at the No. 2 slot, 8-5. While Pavla Mesterova and Tamara Tanner of LMU teamed up to defeat SMC's Jessica Hoath and Nienke Strijbis at the No. 1 position, 8-4. The Lions' second win to claim the doubles point, came with Tina Razloznik and Shauna Morgan's victory over Alex Poorta and Claire Soper, 9-7.

In singles action, the deciding point for the match relied on the outcome on court four where Calve and Heckel fought for the victory. Heckel won the first match and Calvo won the second to force a third, but Saint Mary's could not pull through, giving the win to Heckel and the Lions (6-4, 3-6, 6-3).

Poorta, Soper, and Ordoveza all posted wins in their singles matches, as they each defeated their opponents in two sets. The Gaels fought hard in the two matches they dropped, as No. 54 Mesterova defeated 117th-ranked Hoath at the No. 1 spot (7-5, 6-2), while the Lions' Morgan defeated Feline Charlot on court six (6-2, 4-6, 6-1).

The match marked the Gaels' first loss against a WCC opponent. Saint Mary's will return to action at home, as they face Denver on March 19 at 11:00 AM at the Korth Tennis Complex.