Jan. 28, 2011

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The LMU women's tennis team almost edged out no. 49 University of Arizona this afternoon in a close 4-3 match . After winning the doubles point with wins courts two and three, the match came down to the singles competition. In singles the Lions saw wins from Miya Jin and April Bisharat to tie the match 3-3. The match came down to court four where the Lions were unable to hold off the wildcats in the last minutes dropping the match in a tiebreaker.

In doubles the Lions came out swinging cinching up the doubles point with wins courts two and three. Senior Shauna Morgan and sophomore April Bisharat teamed up for a strong combo and gave the Lions their first win on the day on court three finishing Smith/Castany of Arizona in a solid 8-3. Next on court two, Elisaveta Pironokova and freshman Reka Rohonvi clinched the doubles point for the day with an 8-4 victory over McRann/Huh of Arizona. This win gives the duo a 2-1 record on the season thus far. Finally on court one, newcomer Ashley Anderson and freshman Miya Jin teamed up after finding success together in some fall pre-season tournaments. The duo came down to a tiebreaker Marks/Landsman of Arizona but were unable to get the win.

In singles, the Lions quickly dropped three matches to the wildcats on courts two, three and six. However the Lions came firing back with two big wins from April Bisharat and Miya Jin to tie the match at 3-3 overall. The match then came down to court four where Ashley Anderson and Susan McRann played in a long three set tiebreaker into the dark to determine the win. After going back and forth over with multiple lead changes, McRann of Arizona pulled out the victory to give the match to Arizona.

In a tough match up, the Lions rose to the occasion and made the match not only competitive but also brought it down to the wire. In singles April Bisharat got her second singles win of the season over Marks of Arizona 6-3, 6-3. Freshman Miya Jin also set her record to 2-1 in singles with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Castany. Both Bisharat and Jin had two wins on the day after getting victories in doubles earlier in the afternoon. Ashley Anderson also had a close match against McRann of Arizona in a heart-breaking tiebreaker lasting long into the evening.

In one of the toughest parts of their schedule, the Lions were able to bounce back from a tough loss to UCLA to give the Arizona wildcats a run for their money. With such tough matches under their belt early in the season, the Lions will be well prepared and competition ready for their conference schedule and upcoming matches. Up next the Lions face Long Beach State University at 11:00 am on February 5th at the LMU Tennis Center.

Doubles:
Marks/Landsman UofA def. Anderson/Jin LMU 9-8
Pironkova/Rohonyi LMU def. McRann/Huh UofA 8-4
Morgan/Bisharat LMU def. Smith/Castany UofA 8-3


Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles:
Bisharat LMU def. Marks UofA 6-3, 6-3
Smith UofA def. Pironkova LMU 6-3, 6-2
Landsman UofA def. LaPorte LMU 6-1, 6-0
McRann UofA def. Anderson LMU 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
Jin LMU def. Castany UofA 6-4, 6-4
Huh UofA def. Rohonyi LMU 6-3, 6-2

Order of Finish: 3, 2, 6, 1, 5, 6