Toledo
Bulls Clinch MAC Tournament Berth With 6-1 Victory At Toledo
4/20/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
TOLEDO, OH - The University at Buffalo women's tennis team clinched a MAC Tournament berth in style on Saturday afternoon as they dominated Toledo with a 6-1 victory. The Bulls won the doubles point and took five of the six singles matches. The victory improved UB's conference record to 4-4, good for a fifth place tie with Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Following the tiebreaker procedures, UB will be the #6 seed in the upcoming tournament, opening quarterfinal play on Friday. The Bulls also improve to 13-4 overall.
UB switched up its doubles pairings this afternoon and it paid off as the Bulls swept the three matches. Junior Miranda Podlas and freshman Gopika Kapoor won at first singles, while Tanvi Shah joined fellow classmate Marta Stoyanova for a 9-7 win at two. Laura Fernandez and Anamaria Candanoza won their match a third doubles.
"We changed our doubles around this afternoon and I think the players really responded well to it," said head coach Kristen Ortman. "We know how important doubles is going to be in the conference tournament and it was important for us to get it right."
The Bulls continued their success in singles winning five of the matches. The only loss came at second singles where Podlas hung tough for the Bulls despite being less than 100%. The match didn't remain tied for long though as Fernandez put UB back ahead with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at five. Shah won easily at first singles, 6-0, 6-2 and then fittingly enough, Tamara Markovic, the lone senior on the team, clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-2 win at four. Kapoor also won her match at third singles, 6-1, 6-4, while Stoyanova came back to win at six. After dropping the first set, 1-6, she trailed 4-1 in the second, before coming back to win that one 6-4 and won the third set, 6-3.
"Everyone contributed in singles today and we played with an intensity that I haven't seen all year," said Ortman. "They were excited to have the opportunity to clinch a birth in the tournament and they went out there and took care of business."
The MAC Championships will be held next weekend in Muncie, Ind. Pending confirmation from the MAC office, Friday's (April 26) first-round pairings appear to be #3 seed Akron vs. #6 seed Buffalo, and #4 seed Ball State vs. #5 seed WMU.
Second-seeded BGSU will face the UA-UB winner, while #1 seed Miami will meet the BSU-WMU survivor in Saturday's (April 27) semifinal round. The semifinal-round winners will meet in the championship match on Sunday (April 28).
Doubles
1. Miranda Podlas/Gopika Kapoor (UB) def. Lexy Pitt/Emily Mazzola (UT), 8-6
2. Tanvi Shah/Marta Stoyanova (UB) def. Pia Rygh/Mackenzie Bowman (UT), 9-7
3. Laura Fernandez/Anamaria Candanoza (UB) def. Silvia Carvajal/Kate Nguyen (UT), 8-6
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
Singles
1. Tanvi Shah (UB) def. Kate Nguyen (UT), 6-0, 6-2
2. Pia Rygh (UT) def. Miranda Podlas (UB), 6-1, 6-1
3. Gopika Kapoor (UB) def. Chrissy Coffman (UT), 6-1, 6-4
4. Tamara Markovic (UB) def. Emily Mazzola (UT), 6-3, 6-2
5. Laura Fernandez (UB) def. Lexy Pitt (UT), 6-4, 6-4
6. Marta Stoyanova (UB) def. Silvia Carvajal (UT), 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2,5,1,4,6,3
