March 24, 2009

Final Stats

KENNESAW, Ga. - Facing a Kennesaw State team that had just upset the 2008 Atlantic Sun Tournament champions in Jacksonville, the USC Upstate women's tennis team made sure it had no such luck against the 2008 A-Sun regular-season champions, as Upstate used three doubles wins and four two-set wins to win its 16th straight A-Sun match, 6-1, over Kennesaw State on Tuesday afternoon at the KSU Tennis Complex.

With the men's team's 6-1 win over Kennesaw State later in the afternoon, head coach Alessandro De Marzo, in his fifth year as head coach of both the men's and women's tennis programs, moved one win shy of the school record of wins as tennis coach, held by Alan Ferguson, who won 117 matches with the men's program from 1988-97 and 40 with the women's program from 1991-97 for 157 career wins. De Marzo has a 73-26 record with the women's program and a 83-26 record with men's program, giving him 156 wins since taking over in 2004.

The Spartans (10-2 overall, 5-0 A-Sun) reached 10 victories for the fifth straight year, the longest stretch in school history. The team has won at least 10 matches in nine of its 21 seasons.

Upstate got out to a quick start by sweeping the doubles point, as senior Anna Novo and sophomore Emilia Milovanovic posted an 8-3 win over Vera Shkundina and Alena Sergeychik at No. 1 and senior Daniela Lovera and freshman Ana-Sofia Camberos added an 8-3 win over Mackenzie Swindall and Lindsay Dillon at No. 3. Freshman Cinthya Lazaro and junior Carolina Bello rounded out doubles play with a 9-7 win over Mercedes Cobos and Agatha Palider at No. 2.

Upstate kept the Owls (6-8 overall, 2-2 A-Sun) in check in singles play, as Lovera posted her 14th straight A-Sun win with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Palider at No. 4, Bello posted a 6-3, 6-1 win over Ayano Tanaka at No. 2 and Camberos downed Sergeychik, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6 to clinch the match.

After a loss at No. 3, Lazaro posted a 6-3, 7-5 win over Swindall at No. 5. Novo wrapped up the match by winning just her third three-set match against A-Sun competition, coming from being down 5-3 in the second set to overcoming the freshman Shkundina, 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, dominating the third set for her 16th-straight win against A-Sun foes. She is also a perfect 12-0 in dual meet matches this spring.

The Spartans get back in action on Friday with the first of two very important A-Sun matches, as Jacksonville, who won the A-Sun Tournament Championship in 2008 after Upstate won the regular-season title, comes to the USC Upstate Tennis Complex for a 2 p.m. match. On Saturday, North Florida, who currently has a perfect 6-0 A-Sun mark will come to Upstate for a 10 a.m. match.