No. 48 Women's Tennis Tops No. 35 Anteaters

Sunday, March 2

Irvine, CA

11:00 AM

Saint Mary's College of California

UC Irvine

No. 48 Women's Tennis Tops No. 35 Anteaters

3/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

March 2, 2008

Results

Irvine, CA - The No. 48 ranked Saint Mary's women's tennis team upset No. 35 UC Irvine in a close dual match, 4-3. The Gaels used stellar play in singles action to grasp the win, as freshman Claire Soper clinched the victory for the team at the No. 3 position. Soper defeated the Anteater's Jessica Broadfoot in a tight competition, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. In the third set the freshman was down 2-5, but fought back to tie it up, and eventually earn the win. The freshman's match against the senior was the fourth singles match to finish, as the Gaels won the first four, at positions two, one, five, and three.

"Claire had an outstanding match for us today," said associate head coach Greg Kennett. "After being down 2-5 in the third set, she showed a lot of heart and determination to come back and win five straight games."

The matches at the one and two spots were the first to conclude, as freshman Alex Poorta blew past her opponent, Clare Fermin, 6-1, 6-0. Senior Jessica Hoath was the next to finish, as she picked up the win at the No. 1 position, 6-3, 6-2, against Inna Agababian. At the No. 5 spot Stef Ordoveza took down UC Irvine's Ali Borowicz, 6-3, 6-5, while Soper ended with the last singles win for the Gaels.

In doubles, the pair of Marah Calvo and Ordoveza was the only team to record a win, defeating Jessica Braodfoot and Heidi Kaloi, 8-4.

"Today was a very competitive match, with two great teams battling it out from start to finish," said Kennett. "Beating a ranked opponent and winning four singles competitions is tough to do in any match, and after losing the doubles point it can be even more difficult. We were a little frustrated and disappointed that we did not win the doubles point, but coming back and winning four singles matches showed great character in our team."

With the win the Gaels improve to 7-2 on the season, with their only two losses coming from No.3 Stanford and No. 36 Long Beach State. Saint Mary's returns to action on March 8, as they face San Diego in Boise, ID at 11:00 a.m.