Northern Illinois
Bulls Open MAC Play With 10th Straight Victory
3/23/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
WILLIAMSVILLE, NY - The University at Buffalo women's tennis team remained undefeated, picking up their 10th straight win on Saturday afternoon, 6-1, against Northern Illinois. The victory was UB's first in conference play as it is now 10-0 on the year and 1-0 in conference. With the loss, NIU falls to 14-4 and 0-2 in the MAC.
The Bulls dominated the doubles competition early, winning all three matches. The second doubles squad of Anamaria Candanoza and Gopika Kapoor were the first to finish as they breezed to an 8-1 victory. UB's first doubles team of Tanvi Shah and Miranda Podlas won their match 8-3 and the third doubles team completed the sweep as Laura Fernandez and Marta Stoyanova won their match, 8-6.
Buffalo took five of the six matches in singles, winning the first four matches to finish, which clinched the match. Podlas finished first at second singles with a 6-1, 6-2 victory and Kapoor was the second to finish, winning 6-3, 6-1 at sixth singles. The Bulls clinched the match as Shah won her match at first singles, 6-3, 6-0 to give Buffalo a 4-0 lead. Senior Tamara Markovic then won her match at third singles, 6-4, 6-2 while the Bulls also won at fifth singles, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 1-0 (10-4). The Huskies did claim one match, a victory at fourth singles.
"We just focused on ourselves today and on our strenghths against a very good Northern Illinois team," said head coach Kristen Ortman. "This was our first MAC match and while I think we felt a little bit of pressure, it was great to see this team work though that pressure."
The 10 wins for the Bulls are their most in a season since 2008-09 and the 10-0 record to start the year is their best since 1995-96 when UB started the year 14-0. UB and Cornell remain the only two undefeated teams in the nation.
The Bulls are back in action next weekend when they hit the road for a pair of matches beginning on Friday afternoon at Miami (OH).
Doubles
1. Tanvi Shah/Miranda Podlas (UB) def. Nelle Youel/Arantza De La Torre (NIU), 8-3
2. Anamaria Candanoza/Gopika Kapoor (UB) def. Haley Dekkinga/Stephanie McDonald (NIU), 8-1
3. Laura Fernandez/Marta Stoyanova (UB) def. Mary Malkin/Cristina Alvarez (NIU), 8-6
Order of Finish: 2,1,3
Singles
1. Tanvi Shah (UB) def. Nelle Youel (NIU), 6-3, 6-0
2. Miranda Podlas (UB) def. Haley Dekkinga (NIU), 6-1, 6-2
3. Tamara Markovic (UB) def. Arantza De La Torre (NIU), 6-4, 6-2
4. Mary Malkin (NIU) def. Laura Fernandez (UB), 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (11-9)
5. Anamara Candanoza (UB) def. Cristina Alvarez (NIU), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 1-0 (10-4)
6. Gopkia Kapoor (UB) def, Stephanie McDonald (NIU), 6-3, 6-1
E Marta Stoyanova (UB) def. Maria Rozo (NIU), 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2,6,1,3,4,5
