LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Tulane women’s tennis team captured its second consecutive Conference USA Tournament title, and third in the last four seasons, after posting a 4-1 win over second-seeded TCU in Sunday’s final at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.
The Green Wave, ranked 15th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, won its 15th straight match to improve to 24-1 overall, including a 15-1 mark against ranked foes. TCU, ranked 25th by the ITA, falls to 17-7 with the loss.
Sunday’s win was Tulane’s second straight championship and third overall, with the trophy set to join the Wave’s 2001 and 2003 hardware. The Tulane men’s team also won its C-USA championship Sunday afternoon, giving both programs the league’s title for the second straight season.
The Wave won Sunday’s title match despite losing the doubles point for just the second time this season. The Green Wave opened with a victory as the No. 3 doubles when Jenny Kuhn and Maria Ivanov defeated Gloriann Lopez and Paige Brown, 8-3. However, TCU fired back with its No. 2 team of Paty Aburto and Karla Mancinas posting an 8-6 decision over Tulane’s duo of Nancy Kockott and Dorottya Magas. Tied for the doubles point, TCU’s tandem of Saber Pierce and Ana Cetnik won the tiebreaker over Tulane’s Darya Ivanov and Julie Smekodub, 9-8 (3).
However, Tulane didn’t give up on defending its C-USA title in singles action. Kockott swept TCU’s Gloriann Lopez, 6-2, 6-1, while Magas downed Karla Mancinas, 6-0, 7-5, at No. 5. Kuhn followed her solid weekend with another top finish. She swept Jenn Chay, 6-3, 6-2, and Maria Ivanov clinched the victory with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Aburto at No. 1.
“It was a very inspirational victory for us,” said Tulane head coach David Schumacher. “The doubles point is very crucial. In fact, our only other loss on the season, we also lost the doubles point. So we knew going into singles play, we had to get the job done. I was very impressed with this team, because they came out focused and ready to win.”
Match #22 – C-USA Championship (Bass-Rudd Tennis Center ~ Louisville, Ky.)
(1) Tulane 4, (2) TCU 1
Singles
1. #93 Maria Ivanov, TUL def. #48 Paty Aburto, TCU, 6-2, 6-2
2. #107 Jenny Kuhn, TUL def. Jenn Chay, TCU, 6-3, 6-2
3. #47 Julie Smekodub, TUL vs. Saber Pierce, TCU, DNF
4. #89 Darya Ivanov, TUL vs. Ana Cetnik, TCU, DNF
5. Dorottya Magas, TUL def. Karla Mancinas, TCU, 6-0, 7-5
6. Nancy Kockott, TUL def. Gloriann Lopez, TCU, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
1. #32 Pierce/Cetnik, TCU def. Smekodub/D. Ivanov, TUL, 9-8 (3)
2. Aburto/Mancinas, TCU def. #21 Kockott/Magas, TUL, 8-6
3. M. Ivanov/Kuhn, TUL def. Brown/Lopez, TCU, 8-3