Feb. 10, 2007

SANTA BARBARA, CA (Feb. 10) -- The 67th-ranked Loyola Marymount women's tennis team earned a hard-fought 4-3 win over­ No. 73 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, using the doubles point to push them to their second victory in three deay.

The Lions opned the match with an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles as Pavla Mesterova and Tamara Tanner claimed an 8-4 win over Charlotte Scatliffe and Carina Bjornstrom. Mesterova and Tanner are 2-0 in dual meets this season.

Erin Ivey and Serena Fermin pushed the Lions to the doubles point as they defeated Tova Hausman and Asagi Onaga at No. 2 doubles, 8-5. The Lions nearly made it a clean sweep in doubles action, as No.3 doubles Bliss Nixon and Elrien de Villiers fell in a heartbreaker, 9-8 (0).

The teams split the singles action as Mesterova improved to 2-0 in dual matches with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win. Her win was the Lions' fourth point on the day, giving LMU the overall victory. Baker, Tanner and Fermin all fell at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 doubles in hard fought matches.

It was the Lions' newcomers proving big in the end. Nixon claimed a 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 6 singles while de Villiers claimed a three-set match, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

The Lions improve to 2-0 and will host West Coast defending champion and rival Pepperdine on Feb. 16 at 1:30 p.m. It will be the Lions' home opener at the LMU Tennis Center.

Results

No. 67 Loyola Marymount 4, No. 73 UC Santa Barbara 3
Singles
#1 Pavla Mesterova LMU def. Carina Bjornstrom UCSB 4-6,6-0,6-2
#2 Tova Hausman UCSB def. Robyn Baker LMU 7-6(5),6-3
#3 Charlotte Scatliffe UCSB def. Tamara Tanner LMU 6-2,6-0
#4 Asagi Onaga UCSB def. Serena Fermin LMU 6-3,6-3
#5 Kirien de Villes LMU def. Brittany Kausen UCSB 6-3,4-6,6-1
#6 Bliss Nixon LMU def. Kristen Wilson UCSB 6-4,7-5
Doubles:
#1 Mesterova/Tanner LMU def. Scatliffe/Bjornstrom 8-4
#2 Erin Ivey/Fermin LMU def. Hausman/Onaga 8-5
#3 Wilson/Kausen UCSB def. Nixon/deVilles 9-8(0)*