Feb. 2, 2008

No. 21 FSU Fries Rice 7-0 In Home Opener

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Six days after the season was scheduled to start, the Florida State women's tennis squad finally got things underway with a perfect 7-0 victory over Rice Friday night. The Seminoles swept the Owls in both doubles and singles in front of a home crowd at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center.

"It's good to have our first win under our belts after our first home match," said head coach Jennifer Hyde. "The girls did what they needed to do, they were focused on the task at hand, but we definitely identified some things that we have to work on in the next couple weeks as we start getting into the meat of our schedule."

Florida State paired off by class in doubles, with the freshmen Katie Rybakova and Federica Suess notching the Seminoles' first victory in an 8-2 defeat of the Owls' Emily Braid and Varsha Shiva-Shankar 8-2.

No. 37 NC State Rolls Over No. 51 Marshall, 6-1

RALEIGH, N.C. - The No. 37 NC State women's tennis team wasted little time in dispatching No. 51 Marshall on Friday evening at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, 6-1. The Wolfpack (3-0) took the doubles point then claimed five of the six singles matches - including four in straight sets - to handle the Thundering Herd (4-2).

NC State jumped out to a quick start in doubles, taking No. 2 and No. 3 to claim the doubles point for an early lead.

Lenka Hojckova and Julia Roach improved to 3-0 on the season with an impressive 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles. Kristen Bleakley and Catherine Grotz were impressive in their first doubles match together, taking No. 3 doubles to secure the team point, 8-4, after running out to a 6-1 lead.

Virginia Edged by Ohio State 4-3

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia women's tennis team completed its season-opening four-match homestand on Friday, falling to Ohio State 4-3. With the loss, Virginia falls to 1-3 on the season.

The Cavaliers took the early lead by taking the doubles point. After Ohio State (3-0) won at No. 3 doubles, the Cavaliers won the final two matches to take the point. At No. 2 doubles, the team of Maggie Yahner (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Lindsey Pereira (Arlington, Texas) rallied from down 7-4 to win in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (5). With the opening point on the line, the Cavalier team of Lara Alexander (London, England) and Amanda Rales (Bethesda, Md.) upset No. 33 Christina Keesey and Angela DiPastina 8-6 at the No. 1 position to give UVa a 1-0 lead.

In singles, the Buckeyes evened the match as Cailtin O'Keefe topped Hampton Williams (Raleigh, N.C.) at No. 6 singles. Virginia retook the lead, 2-1, as Rales completed a 6-4, 6-1 win over Paloma Escobedo at the No. 1 position.