The women's tennis team raised the bar this weekend as sophomore Andrea Novaceanu broke the school record for most consecutive singles victories. The Bulls also enjoyed team success as they went 2-0 on the weekend, defeating Mid-American Conference foes Toledo and Eastern Michigan.
EMU (8-8, 3-2 MAC) was the Bulls' first victim, falling 5-2 on Friday. The doubles teams of senior Kristin Ortman and junior Miglena Nenova as well as sophomores Andrea Novaceanu and Tina Jacob rallied for two of the three matches. Ortman and Nenova pulled through in the tiebreaker set, where they took five of the final six points to win 7-5.
In the singles matches, Nenova, Novaceanu, Smranda Stan and Jacob took their matches, only losing two sets to seal the win. Jacob won in impressive form, only requiring two sets of 6-4, 6-1 to win.
Saturday's match against Toledo saw the Bulls come from behind for a 6-1 victory. The match did not start off well, as the Bulls lost two out of three doubles matches. The lone victory came from the team of sophomore Natalie Dean and junior Katrin Fischer, who won 8-5 over Toledo sophomores Sarah Horning and Sarah VanderMolen. The Rockets (12-5, 2-2 MAC) swept the remaining matches, earning victories over the Bulls pairings of Ortman and Nenova, as well as Novaceanu and Jacob.
Ortman, who lost her mother only a week beforehand, showed her strength for her teammates and coaches, competing in a doubles while foregoing a singles match.
"We lost today (in doubles), but the team really picked up in singles matches," Ortman said. "It was good to get out there and see the team play. It was hard to focus, but you need stuff like this to alleviate the stress."
In the singles match, Novaceanu clinched her tenth straight victory, extending the record she set the night before, and bringing her season total to 23 wins. She defeated Myriam Cueva, 6-4, 7-5.
"This year I've been more focused," Novaceanu said. "It's more mental concentration than physical. I was just really enjoying the match, I had no idea about the record."
On top of Novaceanu's win, the remaining Bulls gained revenge on their earlier doubles struggle, winning the other five matches. Nenova, Dean, and Jacob all won their matches in two sets, while Stan and Fischer needed three sets to triumph over their opponents.
While Fischer struggled to victory 7-6 (4), 4-6, 1-0 (10-6), Novaceanu referred to an analogy the head women's coach Kathy Twist used to demonstrate how teamwork made things happen.
"Coach told us that as a team we were like musical instruments. One violin would not be as strong as many violins together," Novaceanu said. "If you only have one, you won't have as strong of an orchestra."
Twist was pleased with the weekend, but said that because there was no travel, it allowed for more intense practice sessions.
"We did more intense workouts, because at home you need to be able to pace yourself," Twist said. "We have two long matches coming up, versus Akron and Illinois, and Illinois being a ten-hour drive, we'll ease up more, so that we're fresh."
Twist mentioned that being at home always sets her players at ease, and makes it a more comfortable atmosphere.
"The fans, the courts, the lighting are all familiar," Twist said. "Home ground is always an advantage. Toledo was a tough team to play, but everyone stayed focused."
Novaceanu claims that every experience is a learning process, her and the rest of the team all learn from each match.
"I'm just really happy about my teammates, and no one is afraid of that third set," Novaceanu said.
The Bulls will be in action again when they travel to Akron to do battle with the Zips on April 11 at 1 p.m. Akron has been struggling this season and have a 4-12 overall record; they are winless in the MAC.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
