Women's Tennis Loses To Kentucky In NCAA Tournament
May 14, 2004 | Women's Tennis
CAMBRIDGE, MA-The curtain fell on the 2003-04 Terrier women's tennis season as BU lost to seventh-ranked University of Kentucky, 4-0, on Friday, May 14, in the first round of the NCAA Division 1 Women's Tennis Tournament hosted by Harvard University.
For the Terriers, who finished the season with a 15-8 record, this marked their sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the second time in three years they had been eliminated by Kentucky. In 2002, the Wildcats also posted a 4-0 win over the Terriers.
On Friday, Kentucky opened by winning the first two doubles matches to report. Thus, the third match was not completed. In the two completed matches, Terrier senior captain Lindsey Dynof (Colts Neck, NJ) and freshman Erin Katims (Boca Raton, FL) lost at number one to Abika Kalsarieva and Sarah Foster, 8-2, while senior Elena deMendoza (Madrid, Spain) and sophomore Monica Shepherd (Austin, TX) dropped an 8-4 decision to Joelle Schwenk and Caroline Winebrenner.
The third doubles match had Terrier senior Elisa Glas (Irun, Spain) and sophomore Laura Ahmes (Sarasota, FL) matched up against Laura Maurer and Kim Coventry. The Kentucky duo was leading 7-4, with the score tied 15-15 in the 12th game. However, the match was not completed.
The Terriers' play in doubles this season had been a source of frustration for head coach Lesley Sheehan. That was not the case against Kentucky, as the matches at numbers two and three were particularly competitive.
"I was very happy with how we played doubles today," said Sheehan. "It had been a problem for us all year. Before the match, I told the players to be aggressive and attack the net. And, we were able to do that especially at numbers two and three.
"I think that one of the reasons was the players were excited to be playing in the NCAAs," continued the coach. "They were really fired up when they went on the courts."
Leading 1-0 entering the singles play, Kentucky needed just three points to advance to the next round of the tournament and play Ohio State. The Buckeyes had upset Harvard, 4-2, in the match preceding the Terrier-Kentucky match. The Wildcats and Buckeyes were scheduled to play on Saturday afternoon, May 15, to reach the round of 16.
The Wildcats earned the first of the three points against the Terriers when Schwenk beat Katims, 6-1, 6-0, at number three singles. They picked up the second point when Maurer posted a 6-2-, 6-1 victory over Glas at number four. Kentucky then wrapped up the victory at number two singles when Foster eliminated deMendoza, 6-2, 6-2.
There were still three singles matches on the court. However, in the NCAA Tournament format, once a team achieves its four points, the other matches are halted.
At number one, Dynof lost a hard-fought first set to Kalsarieva, 6-4, and was trailing in the second set, 4-2. At number six, sophomore Aimee Charest (Somerset, MA) had dropped her first set to Christine Simpson, 6-2, and was losing the second set, 4-2.
The most exciting match of the afternoon was at number five where Ahmes was leading the first set, 6-5, when play was halted. To show how competitive that match was, they were still in their first set, while three matches had been completed and two others were in the second set.
"Lindsey and Laura were our top players in singles," said Sheehan. "I just wish our singles had been better.
"Overall, I thought we played well," concluded the coach. "I think we can compete against teams at this level. I just have to make our players believe they can."
Hopefully, that will be the case next season.
