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Three Cougars Advance to Sunday's Finals
11/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Nov. 6, 2010
Doubles Draw
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's tennis team enjoyed another successful showing at the Cougar Fall Draw Saturday at John E. Hoff Courts, as three Cougars moved on to the singles finals of their respective flights.
Senior Elena Kazakova became the first Cougar to advance to Sunday's title match, cruising to a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Mariel Maffezzolli of UTSA.
The next two semifinals victories didn't come as easy, with both Maja Kazimieruk and Giorgia Pozzan prevailing in third-set tiebreakers.
Kazimieruk, a sophomore from Poznan, Poland, took the first set from Arkansas State's Biljana Miloshevska, 6-3, but dropped a hard-fought second set by a score of 5-7 before bouncing back to take the tiebreaker, 10-5. Kazimieruk improved to 9-2 this fall and looks to capture her second singles title of the season on Sunday.
Pozzan got off to another slow start on Saturday, dropping the first set to Arkansas State's Ioana Teu by a score of 7-6(6). The Lacchiarella, Italy, native fired back to take the second frame, 6-2, and outlasted Teu in the third-set tiebreaker by a score of 12-10.
"Giorgia won the conditioning facet of the game," said head coach John Severance. "She also had guts and showed heart and fought back. She had every excuse to fold, but she stayed the course when she wasn't at the top of her game."
Freshman Celia Fraser also competed at a high level on Saturday, winning her first two collegiate victories in the singles consolation draw. The Birmingham, U.K., native rolled past Sam Houston State's Sheridan Currie by a score of 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the afternoon's semifinals. After falling in the first set to Southeastern Louisiana's Audrey Chelini, Fraser shifted gears and cruised to take the next two frames, 6-1, 10-4, to enter Sunday's finals.
The Cougars also kicked off doubles play on Saturday, as the Houston tandems of Pozzan and Joanna Kacprzyk and Kazimieruk and Jo Garvey won two matches apiece to advance to the semifinals.
Pozzan and Kacprzyk joined forces for the first time this season to defeat duos from UTPA and Arkansas State by scores of 8-4 and 8-6, respectively. Pozzan improved to 8-2 in doubles play and pushed her combined record to 18-4 this season.
Kazimieruk and Garvey defeated the UTPA duo of Beguelin and Nazarova by a score of 8-6, and routed the Lee College team of Stephenson and Smith, 8-2. The Cougar tandem has won four of the five matches played together this fall.
The Houston women's tennis squad has claimed three individual titles in an impressive fall season, and look to add more in the fall finale on Sunday.
"We have a lot more fight right now compared to this time last season," said Severance. "We're competing tough and we're a lot closer as a team. We're nowhere near where we need to be, but we're headed in the right direction."
Live updates of the Houston tennis team will be available by following UHCougarTennis on Twitter.
Saturday's Results
Singles Flight A Consolation (Quarterfinals)
Celia Fraser (UH) def. Sheridan Currie (SHSU), 6-1, 6-3
Singles Flight A Consolation (Semifinals)
Celia Fraser (UH) def. Audrey Chelini (SELU), 4-6, 6-1, 10-4
Singles Flight B (Semifinals)
Giorgia Pozzan (UH) def. Ioana Teu (ASU), 6-7(6), 6-2, 12-10
Singles Flight C (Semifinals)
Nadezhda Dubyanskaya (SHSU) def. Joanna Kacprzyk (UH), 6-2, 5-7, 10-5
Maja Kazimieruk (UH) def. Biljana Miloshevska (ASU), 6-3, 5-7, 10-5
Singles Flight D (Semifinals)
Natalie Petaia (SHSU) def. Jo Garvey (UH), 6-2, 6-3
Menna Kamal (ASU) def. Dionne Sanders (UH), 4-6, 7-5, 11-9
Singles Flight E (Semifinals)
Elena Kazakova (UH) def. Mariel Maffezzolli (UTSA), 6-0, 7-5
Doubles Flight A (Round of 16)
Pozzan/Kacprzyk (UH) def. Anderson/Strkic (UTPA), 8-4
Shiva Shankar (Rice)/Sanders (UH) def. Ndlovu/Harrell (PVAM), 9-8(2)
Doubles Flight A (Quarterfinals)
Pozzan/Kacprzyk (UH) def. Nowland/Miloshevska (ASU), 8-6
Postnikova/Dubyanskaya (SHSU) def. Shiva Shankar (Rice)/Sanders (UH), 8-6
Doubles Flight B (Round of 16)
Kazimieruk/Garvey (UH) def. Beguelin/D. Nazarova (UTPA), 8-6
Ottenbreit/Maffezzolli (UTSA) def. Fraser/Kazakova (UH), 8-5
Doubles Flight B (Quarterfinals)
Kazimieruk/Garvey (UH) def. Stephenson/Smith (Lee), 8-2
Doubles Flight B (Consolation First Round)
Raty/Z. Nazarova (UTPA) def. Fraser/Kazakova (UH), 8-3
Sunday's Schedule
Singles Flight A Consolation (Finals)
Celia Fraser (UH) vs. Nowland (ASU)
Singles Flight B (Finals)
Giorgia Pozzan (UH) vs. Jenny Herring (ASU)
Singles Flight C (Finals)
Maja Kazimieruk (UH) vs. Nadezhda Dubyanskaya (SHSU)
Singles Flight E (Finals)
Elena Kazakova (UH) vs. Berenice Van Den Bergh (TX State)
Doubles Flight A (Semifinals)
Pozzan/Kacprzyk (UH) vs. Postnikova/Dubyanskaya (SHSU)
Doubles Flight B (Semifinals)
Kazimieruk/Garvey (UH) vs. Harmath/Rasch (Rice)
Players Mentioned
