LAS VEGAS, Nev., March 18 – UMKC won the doubles point then held Southern Utah off in singles to take a 4-2 win over the Thunderbirds in SUU's 2010 Summit League opener Thursday afternoon.

The Kangaroos got wins at second and third doubles to take a one-point advantage heading into singles, then made it stand up with wins at the bottom of the ladder and one at No. 2 to claim the win.

Suzan Lisenby and Laura Bouet took an 8-4 win over Kirrily Burden and Carmen Blanco at No. 2 doubles while Jessica Ball and Jillian Yakominich claimed an 8-3 win over Kristi Latteier and Mandie Divino at No. 3 to win the point for UMKC. With the point won, first doubles was retired with UMKC's Eva Dalvai and Chelsea Horner leading SUU's Ksusha Nazarova and Olga Tatarchenko 5-4.

The two teams then split the first four singles matches, with each team winning in straight sets. Burden and Blanco won points for SUU, getting past Horner and Lisenby at third and fourth singles by respective scores of 7-5, 6-2, and 6-1, 7-6 (7-5 in the tie-breaker). Yankovich and Holly Davis won points for the 'Roos, however, with respective wins over Latteier (6-1, 6-0) at No. 5 and Divino (6-2, 6-0) at No. 6.

Down to the top two spots on the ladder SUU still had a chance to win. At No. 1 Nazarova won her first set over Dalvai, 6-3, but Tatarchenko fell 6-1 to Bouet in the first set at No. 2. Tatarchenko rallied in set two, however, taking a 6-2 win, but Dalvai came back to get past Nazarova in the second frame, 6-4, sending both matches to a deciding set.

The match was decided when Bouet outlasted Tatarchenko in the final set, 7-5. The match at first singles was retired with Bouet holding a 4-3 edge in the final set.

SUU dipped to 3-5 and 0-1 in the Summit with the loss while UMKC evened its record at 1-1 in conference play and improved to 4-8 overall.
Earlier in the day Oral Roberts took a 4-1 win over UMKC and topped Centenary 4-0 while Western Illinois also stopped Centenary by a 4-0 count.
   
Women's Tennis Results
March 18, 2010
Las Vegas, Nevada, at Bally's Resort

UMKC 4, Southern Utah 2

Doubles
1 – Dalvai and Horner, UMKC, led Nazarova and Tatarchenko, SUU, 5-4
2 – Lisenby and Bouet, UMKC, def. Burden and Blanco, SUU, 8-4
3 – Ball and Yakominich, UMKC, def. Latteier and Divino, SUU, 8-3

Singles
1 – Eva Dalvai, UMKC, led Ksusha Nazarova, SUU, 3-6, 6-4, 4-3
2 – Laura Bouet, UMKC, def. Olga Tatarchenko, SUU, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
3 – Kirrily Burden, SUU, def. Chelsea Horner, UMKC, 7-5, 6-2
4 – Carmen Blanco, SUU, def. Suzan Lizenby, UMKC, 6-1, 7-6 (5)
5 – Jillian Yakominich, UMKC, def. Kristi Latteier, SUU, 6-1, 6-0
6 – Holly Davis, UMKC, def. Mandie Divino, SUU, 6-2, 6-0

ADDITIONAL RESULTS FROM THURSDAY'S PLAY:

Women's Tennis Results
March 18, 2010
Las Vegas, Nevada, at Bally's Resort

Oral Roberts 4, UMKC 1

Doubles
1 – Semenova and Pippin, ORU, vs. Dalvai and Horner, UMKC, suspended 5-5
2 – Gray and Costa, ORU, def. Bouet and Lisenby, UMKC, 8-3
3 – Kondrashova and Dollar, ORU, def. Yakominich and Ball, UMKC, 8-2

Singles
1 – Lina Semenova, ORU, def. Eva Dalvai, UMKC, 6-3, 6-1
2 – Laura Bouet, UMKC, def. Kristin Gray, ORU, 6-2, 6-2
3 – Tayler Pippin, ORU, def. Chelsea Horner, UMKC, 6-4, 6-2
4 – Ana Costa, ORU, def. Suzan Lisenby, UMKC, 6-2, 6-3
5 – Ekaterina Kondrashova, ORU, led Jillian Yakominich, UMKC, 6-1, 2-2
6 – Tori Dollar, ORU, led Holly Davis, UMKC, 6-2, 3-1

Western Illinois 4, Centenary 0

Doubles
1 – Baumer and Kennedy, WIU, def. Bickham and Penney, CC, 8-1
2 – Brandao and Meinert, WIU, def. Henderson and Orschel, CC, 8-0
3 – Unzicker and Griffin, WIU, win by default (unopposed)

Singles
1 – Marcela Brandao, WIU, led Isadora Bickham, CC, 6-1, 2-1
2 – Stephanie Baumner, WIU, def. Holden Penney, CC, 6-0, 6-0
3 – Amy Unzicker, WIU, def. Catlin Orschel, CC, 6-0, 6-2
4 – Kate Kenedy, WIU, vs. Polly Henderson, CC, DNF (did not start match)
5 – Yona Meinert, WIU, vs. Alexis Smith, CC, DNF (did not start match)
6 – Claire Griffin, WIU, win by default (unopposed)

Oral Roberts 4, Centenary 0

Doubles
1 – Semenova and Pippin, ORU, def. BIckham and Penney, CC, 8-1
2 – Gray and Costa, ORU, def. Orschel and Henderson, CC, 8-0
3 – Dollar and Kondrashova, ORU, win by default (unopposed)

Singles
1 – Lina Semenova, ORU, led Isadora Bickham, CC, 4-2
2 – Kristin Gray, ORU, def. Holden Penney, CC, 6-0, 6-0
3 – Tayler Pippin, ORU, def. Catlin Orschel, CC, 6-0, 6-0
4 – Ana Costa, ORU, vs. vs. Polly Henderson, CC, DNF (did not start match)
5 – Tori Dollar, ORU, vs. Alexis Smith, CC, DNF (did not start match)
6 – Ekatrina Kondrashova, ORU, win by default (unopposed)