TCU Daily Skiff - Swingin’

	*Thursday, March 11, 2004*

Swingin’
Women’s tennis team takes cavalier approach to win
Tennis team moves closer to a .500 season with wins against Virginia.

By Ryan Claunch
Skiff Staff

The women’s tennis team improved its record during a 10-match home stretch to 3-1 with a win over the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Horned Frogs bested the Cavaliers 5-2 Wednesday afternoon at the Bernard “Tut” Bartzen Varsity Tennis Courts in the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center, closing in on .500 this season.

“We just focus on getting out there and really playing our hardest,” said senior Saber Pierce.

TCU, ranked No. 45, capitalized in the doubles matches against the No. 43 Cavaliers, winning all three.

Strong crosswinds blew throughout the bright, clear afternoon. Despite the winds, the Horned Frogs kept their footing to dominate the match.

The team’s No. 1 doubles tandem, consisting of Pierce and Ana Cetnik, defeated Lauren Bruch and Mariko Fritz-Krockow 8-5.

Pierce and Cetnik are currently ranked No. 33 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Paty Aburto and Karla Mancinas gave a strong showing and topped Laura James and Shannon Stough 8-4.

Aburto, ranked No. 39 by the ITA in singles, also won her No. 1 singles match, defeating Fritz-Krockow 6-0, 6-2. The Cavaliers currently have no players ranked by the ITA.

“We don’t worry about the rankings,” said Pierce. “We just go out there and do our best.”

The Cavaliers, in their second meeting with the Horned Frogs, proved to be a challenge during singles play. Marta Bechliwanis defeated TCU’s Paige Brown 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 5 singles match after a hard fought match. Cetnik played solid her entire match, holding off Dora Bechliwanis’s strong performance in the second set to capture a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

Freshman Jenn Chay fell to James 2-6, 1-6. Gloriann Lopez clinched the first set of her match in a 7-6 tie-breaker and dominated in the second set 6-2.

“For this match we were really pumped up,” said Pierce. “ We came into this match really excited and confident.”.

The women’s team is currently 0-1 in Conference USA, 5-6 overall, but say they are looking to continue their recent successes throughout the rest of the season.

Ty Halasz/Staff Photographer

Sophomore Gloriann Lopez beat Virginia’s Shannon Stough, helping TCU to a 5-2 nonconference win over the Cavaliers, bringing the Frogs (5-6) closer to .500.

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