FULLERTON/RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Southern Utah University women's tennis split results over the weekend, falling to CS Fullerton 5-2 on Saturday and besting UC Riverside 4-3 on Sunday.
True freshman Veronika Rogova went undefeated at No. 2 singles during the two-match stretch with victories over CSF's Emilia Borkowski 7-6, 7-6 and UCR's Taylor Raney 7-5, 6-2. Rogovoa also paired with Madeline Skaras at No. 2 doubles to take 8-4 victories over CSF's team of Borkowski/Sandford and UCR's team of McKay/Pattugalan.
Southern Utah won the doubles point in both matches, with the wins at No. 2 doubles and victories at No. 3 doubles. Afton Staheli and Anastasiia Vasileva teamed for victories over Riverside's Kat Bergeson and Thanh Doan, 8-4, and Fullerton's Malorie de la Cruz and Avriel Tomaiko, 8-6.
The Thunderbirds secured the match at Riverside with wins at No. 6 singles, a straight-set 6-0, 6-0 win by Staheli, and No. 3 singles behind a 6-1, 6-2 victory by Alex Ivanova over the Highlander's Natalie McKay.
Madeline Skaras suffered a pair of close defeats at No. 4 singles, stretching Riverside's Courtney Pattugalan to tiebreaks in both sets, but falling 7-6, 7-6. The Melbourne, Australia native took the second set of her match with Fullerton's Megan Sandford 6-3 after dropping the first set 6-2 to force a deciding third set. However, the final frame didn't go in her favor as she dropped the match 6-0 to suffer defeat.
Olya Kunz, playing a No. 1 singles, was swept in straight sets 6-1, 6-0 at Fullerton, but looked like her fortunes would change at UC Riverside after taking the first set 6-3 against the Highlander's Jamie Raney. However, Raney came back to force a tiebreaker in the second set, taking it 7-6, and then took the match 10-5 in a third-set tiebreaker.
Vasileva was also up a set at No. 5 singles at Riverside with a 6-3 victory over UCR's Kate Bergeson in the opening stanza. However, the freshman gave up a break in the second set, falling 7-5 and then dropped the third-set tiebreaker 10-7.
Southern Utah will be back in action next weekend with a match at UNLV planned for Friday, February 15. The match in Las Vegas is planned for 2:00 p.m.
CS Fullerton (5) - Southern Utah (2)
No. 1 singles - Morgan McIntosh (CSF) def. Olya Kunz (SUU), 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 singles - Veronika Rogova (SUU) def. Emilia Borkowski (CSF), 7-6, 7-6
No. 3 singles - Kalika Slevcove (CSF) def. Alex Ivanova (SUU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 singles - Megan Sandford (CSF) def. Madeline Skaras (SUU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
No. 5 singles - Malorie de la Cruz (CSF) def. Anastasiia Vasileva (SUU), 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 singles - Rebekkah Ermac (CSF) def. Afton Staheli (SUU), 6-0, 7-5
No. 1 doubles - McIntosh/Slevcove (CSF) def. Ivanova/Kunz (SUU), 8-5
No. 2 doubles - Rogova/Skaras (SUU) def. Borkowski/Sandford (CSF), 8-4
No. 3 doubles - Vasileva/ Staheli (SUU) def. de la Cruz/ Avriel Tomaiko (CSF), 8-6
Southern Utah (4) - UC Riverside (3)
No. 1 singles - Jamie Raney (UCR) def. Olya Kunz (SUU), 3-6, 7-6, (10-5)
No. 2 singles - Veronika Rogova (SUU) def. Taylor Raney (UCR), 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 singles - Alex Ivanova (SUU) def. Natalie McKay (UCR), 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 singles - Courtney Pattugalan (UCR) def. Madeline Skaras (SUU), 7-6, 7-6
No. 5 singles - Kate Bergeson (UCR) def. Anastasiia Vasileva (SUU), 3-6, 7-5, (10-7)
No. 6 singles - Afton Staheli (SUU) def. Rachell Andra (UCR), 6-0, 6-0
No. 1 doubles - Raney/Raney (UCR) def. Kunz/Ivanova (SUU), 8-1
No. 2 doubles - Rogova/Skaras (SUU) def. McKay/Pattugalan (UCR), 8-4
No. 3 doubles - Vasileva/ Staheli (SUU) def. Bergeson/Thanh Doan (UCR), 8-4
