March 13, 2008

San Luis Obispo, Calif. - The Gonzaga University women's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to Cal Poly Thursday afternoon in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

The Mustangs (9-6), who extended their winning streak to five matches, jumped off to a strong start, taking all three doubles matches to earn the point. At No. 1, Cal Poly's Brittank Blalck and Steffi Wong, who are ranked No. 38, handed an 8-5 defeated to Emily Anderson and Clare Dodge. Danielle Farmer and Rika Mehndiratta dropped a close 8-7 (4) decision to Shannon Brady and Maria Malec at No. 2, while Kristen MacWilliam and Aglaya Kokurina fell 8-2 at No. 3 to Amy Markhoff and Diane Filip.

Kokurina and Anderson provided the Zags (4-10) with their lone points of the afternoon by taking victories and the No. 1 and 2 singles spots, respectively. At No. 1, Kokurina earned a straight-set 6-2, 6-3 win over Wong, as Anderson posted a long fought 7-6 (3), 5-7, 1-0 (12) victory over Whitney Peterson at No. 2. Mehndiratta fell at No. 3 to Brady in three-sets 6-4, 6-7 (2) 1-0(3), as Dodge fell in straight-sets 6-0, 6-2 to Filip. Playing No. 4, MacWilliam fell 6-4, 6-1 to Malee and Farmer rounded out singles play with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 loss to Pletcher at No. 6.

The Bulldogs will hit the courts again Friday as they face West Coast Conference foe University of San Francisco at 11 a.m. in San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly 5, Gonzaga 2
Doubles:
Wong/Blalock def. Anderson/Dodge - 8-5
Brady/Malee def. Farmer/Mehndiratta - 8-7(4)
Markhoff/Filip def. MacWilliam/Kokurina - 8-2
Order of finish:
1, 3, 2
Singles:
Kokurina def. Wong - 6-2, 6-3
Anderson def. Peterson - 7-6(3), 5-7, 1-0(12)
Brady def. Mehndiratta - 6-4, 6-7(2), 1-0(3)
Filip def. Dodge - 6-0, 6-2
Malee def. MacWilliam - 6-4, 6-1
Pletcher def. Farmer - 7-6(5), 6-4
Order of finish:
4, 1, 5, 6, 3, 2