Sam Houston State at ITA Regional in Fort Worth
10/22/2006 1:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
FORT WORTH -- Lata Assudani and Irina Sotnikova combined to reach the round of 16 in doubles to highlight action for the Sam Houston State women's tennis team at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional tournament hosted by TCU. The tournament completed fall play for the Bearkats.
"I was very pleased to see how well our team competed against the elite of the region," SHSU head coach Jim Giachino said. "Overall, it was our best effort of the fall season against the strongest competition we have faced to date. That being said, I still think we have to grow a lot more to vie for a conference title in the spring."
Sotnikova reached the second round of the main draw, falling to Daniela Novakova, UTA 6-3 6-4 after opening with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Alanna Rodgers of Rice. Assudani lost in the first round but won a round in the consolation singles.
"Irina played some solid tennis but let a golden opportunity slip by when she lost a close match against the number one player from UTA," Giachino said. "She has too much talent not to utilize it more consistently during matches. Lata is moving better and better with each match she plays. Her final hurdle will be developing the confidence to close out matches when she gets ahead."
Brooke Mills defeated Katerine Palider, UTEP 7-6 3-6 6-4 before falling to LSU's Tiffany Tucker in the second round of qualifying.
"Brooke played her best tennis of the year. She had a very good first round win against a player who had soundly defeated her ajust 2 weeks ago, and she had a real shot at defeating a very high quality player in the second round," Giachino said. "Peta had a disappointing first round loss, but she rebounded to win her next 3 matches playing her best tennis of the season. It was exciting to see how she stayed mentally focused and used the geometry of the court to her advantage. She will be very hard to beat when we start our matches in January.
"Paty played a very gutsy match, even though she lost in the first round. She was so ill that she could hardly talk or breathe, but she still took a talented opponent to 7-5 in the 3rd set. She is playing better and better each tournament, and I know she will be a very solid and consistent winner for the Bearkats starting in January."
"We let a golden opportunity slip away with Brooke and Peta in doubles. They were up against a talented Texas A&M team and started playing not to lose instead of playing to win. That was all it took for the opponents to sneak through for a win. But they are playing so much better now as a team that I think they might challenge our number 1 team come January."
"Irina and Lata did a good job reaching the round of 16 in doubles. The Baylor team they lost to was simply technically more adept. If Lata and Irina can learn to stay together more as a team and not let gaps open in their placement on the court, they will be able to defeat any team they face."
SINGLES
Irina Sotnikova, SHSU def. Alanna Rodgers, Rice 6-2 6-4
Daniela Novakova, UTA def. Irina Sotnikova, SHSU 6-3 6-4
Natalie Buben, SMU def. Lata Assudani, SHSU 6-1 6-1
Lata Assudani, SHSU def. Lakann Wagley 6-0 3-6 1-0
Nina Much def. Lata Assudani 6-4 6-4
Brooke Mills, SHSU def. Katerine Palider, UTEP 7-6 3-6 6-4
Tiffany Tucker, LSU def. Brooke Mills, SHSU 6-2 7-5
Monica Drabkova def. Brooke Mills 6-4 3-6 7-6
Tanya Hasking, UTSA def. Peta Taylor, SHSU 6-1 6-1
Peta Taylor, SHSU def. Kristina Collins, Centenary 6-0 6-0
Melissa Bare, TCU def. Peta Taylor, SHSU 6-2 6-1
Veronica Sagastegul, Rice def. Patty Manzur, SHSU 6-3 6-7 7-5
DOUBLES
Lata Assudani & Irina Sotnikova def. Mykala Heldburg & Nicole Kanter, LSU 8-4
Lata Assudani & Irina Sotnikova def. Christine Duo & Rebecca Lin, Rice 8-2
Lenka Broosova & Zuzana Cerrna def. Lata Assudani & Irina Sotnikova, SHSU 8-3
Anna Blagodarara & Marisa Druss, TX A&M def. Brooke Mills & Peta Taylor, SHSU 8-6
