April 19, 2009

Results

BEAUMONT - After a resuming play from Saturday's postponed match against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, the Lamar University women's tennis team rallied pick up a 4-3 win to close out the regular season at the Cardinal Courts on Sunday.

Singles were played first, starting on Saturday, in hopes of getting the match in before heavy rains postponed the match midway through. Once play resumed on Sunday, the Islanders used the break to their advantage to force doubles play.

The Lady Cardinals picked up their three points with straight set victories by Maria Gutierrez, Manijee Ashrafi and Salina Aranda at two, four and six. Gutierrez completed a perfect conference season with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Nina Ciric at No. 2. Ashrafi rolled over Alexandra Dyckman 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 and Aranda downed Fabiana Mersan 6-0, 6-4 at No. 6.

A&M Corpus Christi got their points with wins at one, three and five. The big point came from Mirna Cicak at No. 1 as she rebounded from a 6-1 loss in the first set to take out Mariaryeni Gutierrez 6-1, 6-2.

With the match tied a three points apiece, the doubles point was used to determine the match.

Lamar easily won the match at No. 2 as Aranda and Ashrafi jumped out to a big lead and cruised to an 8-4 win. Texas A&M Corpus Christi picked up the win at No. 3 with an 8-6 win, leaving the deciding match at No.1.

The Gutierrez sisters would not allow the final home match of Maria Gutierrez's career to go down as a loss, as they battled from down 3-2 for an 8-5 win to close out the match for the Lady Cardinals.

"This weekend was a real test for us," head coach David Wong said. "I thought we had an advantage on Saturday, but the rain forced us to stop play. Corpus Christi responded to the time off and came out and played really well. They forced us to really dig deep for this win.

"I'm proud of the way my senior (Maria Gutierrez) fought to make sure we would win the match. She stepped up in doubles play and really led the way for us at No. 1. Now we have to get ready for the conference tournament, where every point on every court is important."

Below is a list of the Lady Cardinals results against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Singles competition
1. Mirna Cicak (AMCC) def. Mariaryeni Gutierrez (LU-W) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. Maria Gutierrez (LU-W) def. Nina Ciric (AMCC) 6-4, 6-3
3. Erika Iriarte (AMCC) def. Carla Nava (LU-W) 6-1, 5-7, 6-1
4. Manijee Ashrafi (LU-W) def. Alexandra Dyckman (AMCC) 6-2, 6-2
5. Pernelle Soulie (AMCC) def. Manami Kuroda (LU-W) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
6. Salina Aranda (LU-W) def. Fabiana Mersan (AMCC) 6-0, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Mariaryeni Gutierrez/Maria Gutierrez (LU-W) def. Megan Harless/Mirna Cicak (AMCC) 8-5
2. Manijee Ashrafi/Salina Aranda (LU-W) def. Alexandra Dyckman/Erika Iriarte (AMCC) 8-4
3. Nina Ciric/Fabiana Mersan (AMCC) def. Manami Kuroda/Carla Nava (LU-W) 8-6