University of Louisville
St. John's
Women's Tennis Advances in BIG EAST
April 22, 2010 | Women's Tennis
April 22, 2010
The No. 6 seeded University of Louisville women's tennis team took the doubles point and then battled a determined No. 11 seeded St. John's team to a 4-3 victory in the first round of the BIG EAST Women's Tennis Championship at Notre Dame's Courtney Tennis Center.
In a match that extended over four hours, St. John's was looking for the first 11-6 seed upset in championship history.
"This was a really tough match. I knew conference tournament experience was important, I didn't realize how much it would affect us," said U of L head coach Mark Beckham. "We don't have much tournament experience and we were really nervous the entire match. I am proud of the team though, they just found a way to win.
The Cardinals earned the doubles point when Mandy Brown and Jo-Ann Van Aerde upended Nakita Austin and Ira Aleksova 8-2 at No. 2. Ashley Irvin and Kaysara Mandry combined to take the No. 3 spot from Joanna Zwirbulis and Ksenia Mikhaylova 8-2.
But the Red Storm didn't blow over so easily. Mandy Brown took the No. 2 match from Joanna Zwirbulis 6-2, 6-1. Senior Ashley Irvin battled Mikhaylova to a three set win (6-1, 3-6, 6-2) for the win. U of L got a three-set win from Sarah Miller at No. 1 over Aleksova 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 to clinch the match.
The Cardinals advance to play No. 3 seeded DePaul at noon on Friday. Doubles 1. Villajuan/Harris (UofL) vs. Firat/Yonkus (STJ), DNF 6-4 2. Brown/Van Aerde (UofL) def. Austin/Aleksova (STJ), 8-2 3. Irvin/Mandry (UofL) def. Zwirbulis/Mikhaylova (STJ), 8-2 Singles 1. Sarah Miller (UofL) def. Ira Aleksova (STJ), 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 2. Mandy Brown (UofL) def. Joanna Zwirbulis (STJ), 6-2, 6-1 3. Ece Firat (STJ) def. Amelia Harris (UofL), 6-2, 6-2 4. Jenny Yonkus (STJ) def. Kaysara Mandry, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 5. Ashley Irvin (UofL) def. Ksenia Mikhaylova (STJ), 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 6. Nakita Austin (STJ) def. Gabrielle Duncan (UofL), 6-3, 6-2
Players Mentioned
