After attaining its highest seed ever in the 10-team field at the 2005 Mid-American Conference championships, the No. 6 UB women's tennis team dropped its quarterfinal bout verses the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks 4-1. Following the loss, the Bulls conclude the season with an overall record of 8-4, including four MAC wins.
Despite scoring a victory at first doubles, the Bulls were unable to claim wins at second and third doubles, ultimately losing the doubles point.
Miglena Nenova and Kristen Ortman had an outstanding afternoon for Buffalo, as the duo soundly defeated Miami's Linda Jirouskova and Kartina Lomidze, 8-2.
Meanwhile, at second doubles, the Bulls' tandem of MAC Freshman of the Year Andreea Novaceanu and Tina Jacob narrowly dropped its match to Remy Swain and Leda Pesatova, 9-7 and Katrin Fischer and Sabrina Carmona were unsuccessful in their match against Victoria Pulido and Kelly Douple at third doubles, falling 8-6.
"It was an excellent match, we're young and you can't accuse them of not being fighters," said UB head coach Kathy Twist. "It went right down to the wire. We went on court at 8:30 in the morning and we didn't get off the court until after 1:30. That's a long, long fight. In the end, they did well, I was pleased."
Entering singles competition down by a point, the Bulls were able to initially break even, as Nenova stole a double-bagel victory over Lomidze at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-0.
UB then lost its matches at first, third and fifth singles, in turn allowing the RedHawks to claim the match.
Jirouskova, a second team All-MAC selection, defeated Novaceanu, a first team All-MAC selection at first singles, 7-5, 6-3 while Ortman fell to Douple at No. 3 singles 6-4, 7-5. Meanwhile, Buffalo also dropped its fifth singles match, as Sabrina Carmona was defeated by Miami's Pulido, 6-2, 6-1. Because the RedHawks had claimed the four matches necessary for the team victory, the No. 4 and the No. 6 singles matches were not finished, although both Fischer and Jacob were in the midst of third sets against their respective opponents at fourth and sixth singles.
A young team, sporting only one senior, while greatly improved in many categories this season, the Bulls hope to carry much of this season's success to the court next year.
"We're on the move going forward. It was a huge leap to go from No. 9 to No. 6, said Twist. "They're fighters, what we need to learn is to fight right. To make an analogy, if someone has a weapon and you don't, you can't just run and attack them. You have to use other means, like stealth and strategy. It's the same thing in any sport, you have to know when your opportunities are there and how to approach them."
