Feb. 14, 2009
Contact: Dana Ingraham
AKRON, Ohio -- The Cleveland State women's tennis team came up a little short in the battle of northeast Ohio Friday afternoon. The Vikings snapped their five match winning streak, falling to Akron 5-2.
CSU struggled after losing the doubles point, its only victories coming from Jackie Tabb and Myra Pepino at fourth and fifth singles. Tabb returned to the lineup for the first time this year, having been sidelined with a knee injury.
"We are excited that Jackie is back and playing well at No. 4," CSU head coach Brian Etzkin said. "She is moving around well and is hungry to compete right now."
Pepino's win at No. 5 singles brings her individual streak to six wins in a row, dating back to Jan. 31 against St. Francis (PA).
The loss to Akron brings the women's overall record to 5-3.
"As a team I thought we let one slip away tonight; we definitely had our opportunities," said Etzkin. "It is frustrating to lose, especially since we were not the most aggressive team on the court tonight.
"Although it is disappointing, we will look to build on this. Akron is the kind of team we will have to beat if we have our sights set on a conference championship later on this year."
Cleveland State has a week off before heading to East Lansing, Michigan to take on Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 21. Play is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
Akron 5, Cleveland State 2
Feb. 13, 2009 at LaTuchie Tennis Center
Doubles
1. Harutyunyan/Baronayte (Akron) def. Gibbons/Bjerrehus (CSU), 8-4
2. Castro Cota/Gombera (Akron) def. Holzinger/Tabb (CSU), 8-5
3. Pepino/Bjelan (CSU) vs. Berry/Benjamin (Akron), 8-3
Singles
1. Zara Harutyunyan (Akron) def. Charlotte Gibbons (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
2. Anna Baronayte (Akron) def. Catrine Bjerrehus (CSU), 6-1, 6-4
3. Tanyaradzwa Gombera (Akron) def. Melissa Holzinger (CSU), 5-0, ret.
4. Jackie Tabb (CSU) def. Carolina Castro Cota (Akron), 6-3, 6-1
5. Myra Pepino (CSU) def. Kerry Langworthy (Akron), 6-2, 6-4
6. Jeremie Benjamin (Akron) def. Sanda Bjelan (CSU), 5-7, 7-5, 10-4
Exhibition Match
Alyssa Carlson (Akron) def. Molly Drake (CSU), 8-5
