Courtesy of UC Irvine Athletics Media Relations

UC Irvine women's tennis earned its first NCAA Tournament victory with an arduous 4-2 victory Saturday afternoon on San Jose State (19-6) at Marks Stadium in Los Angeles.

Ali Facey's furious comeback ended UCI's drought even after dropping the first set, 6-4, and trailing 4-1 in the second set. Facey raced back with four consecutive points to eventually win the second set with a 7-0 tiebreaker.

In the third set, her and opponent Julianna Bacelar exchanged leads. Facey held match point multiple times with a 5-4 set lead, but Bacelar endured a lengthy deuce to tie the match back up at 5-5. Facey would get back in the rhythm and finally close out the match 7-5 in the third set to complete the four-hour, 30-minute match.

Ranked opponents Kristina Smith and Klaudia Boczova were also embroiled in their own battle alongside Facey and Bacelar. Smith gutted out the first set and Boczova rallied for the second set, and Boczova had the slight 6-5 edge when the match ended.

Marivick Mamiit had her own comeback rallying down 4-1 in the second set to win 6-4 and close out the third point for the Anteaters (23-4, 9-0).

Sarah Gong and Franziska Goettsching scored straight-set wins to erase an early deficit. The Spartans took the doubles point winning two of the three sets.

For Coach Edles and the 'Eaters, they reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. UCI's previous trips to the postseason in 2007 and 2010 ended in first-round defeats. UC Irvine will return to the court on Sunday, May 12th at 12:00 p.m. to take on USC at Marks Stadium in an NCAA second-round match.

No. 32 UC Irvine (4), No. 63 San Jose State (0)
NCAA First Round • Los Angeles, Calif.
Marks Stadium • USC

Doubles
1. Goettsching/Smith (UCI) def. Leon Chao/Medlin (SJSU) – 8-4
2. Boczova/Willett (SJSU) def. A. Facey/Schweyer (UCI) – 8-1

3. Bacelar/Truong (SJSU) def. Mamiit/Schweyer (UCI) – 8-5

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1. #85 Kristina Smith (UCI) vs. #54  Klaudia Boczova (SJSU) – 7-5, 2-6, 5-6 (unf.)

2. Marivick Mamiit (UCI) def. Sabastiani Leon Chao (SJSU) – 6-2, 6-4

3. Franziska Goettsching (UCI) def. Chau Truong (SJSU) – 6-3, 6-3

4. Sarah Gong (UCI) def. Erica Medlin (SJSU) – 6-2, 6-2

5. Ali Facey (UCI) def. Julianna Bacelar (SJSU) – 4-6, 7-6 (0), 7-5

6. Jessica Willett (SJSU) def. Sarah Stadfelt (UCI) – 6-3, 2-6, 3-6
 |
Order of finish: 4, 3, 2, 6, 5

49ers Fall to No. 2 Seed Oklahoma State in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament

Third-seeded Long Beach State saw its 13-match winning streak come to an end on Saturday as the 49ers fell 4-0 to No. 2 seeded Oklahoma State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

The Cowgirls (16-8) took the first point of the match as C.C. Sardinha and Maria Alvarez won 8-3 over Anna Jeczmionka and Anne-Sophie Willems at the No.3 spot. However, LBSU (21-4) would not give the point easily as the 49ers fought back deficits at both the No. 1 and 2 spots. Klaudia Malenovska and Sarah Cantlay were down 5-4 to Meghan Blevins and Lorena Gheorge before winning two straight games to take the 7-5 lead. Back and forth play continued before Oklahoma State won two straight games to win the match, 9-7, and claim the first point. At the No. 1 spot, Ebba Unden and Karolina Rozenberg were down 7-3, but then won three games in a row before play was halted at 7-6 due to the completion of the No. 2 match.

In singles play, LBSU was unable to stifle Oklahoma State's early momemtum as the Cowgirls claimed first set wins at all six spot and then won at the No. 3, 4 and 6 spots to clinch the win. Kanyapat Narattana won 6-0, 6-1 over Anna Jeczmionka at the No. 5 spot while Karyn Guttormsen won 6-4, 6-1 over Anne-Sophie Willems at No. 6. After being shut out in the first set, senior Sarah Cantlay could not come back at the No. 3 spot, falling 6-0, 6-3 to C.C. Sardinha.

The loss ends a LBSU season that was one of the most impressive campaigns in program history. Its 21 wins tie the 2002 team for the second best in Beach tennis history and the .840 winning percentage is third-best. Next year's squad will return four members who will look to fill the void left by the three graduating seniors in Klaudia Malenovska, Sarah Cantlay and Anna Jeczmionka.

No. 28 Oklahoma State (4), No. 39 Long Beach State (0)
NCAA First Round • Los Angeles, Calif.
Los Angeles Tennis Center • UCLA

Doubles
1. No. 30 Malika Rose/Kanyapat Narattana (OKST) vs. Ebba Unden/Karolina Rozenberg (LBSU), did not finish
2. Meghan Blevins/Lorena Gheorge (OKST) def. Klaudia Malenovska/Sarah Cantlay (LBSU) 9-7
3. C.C. Sardinha/Maria Alvarez (OKST) def. Anna Jeczmionka/Anne-Sophie Willems (LBSU) 8-3

Singles
1. No. 69 Malika Rose (OKST) vs. Ebba Unden (LBSU), did not finish
2. Meghan Blevins (OKST) vs. Klaudia Malenovska (LBSU), did not finish
3. C.C. Sardinha (OKST) def. Sarah Cantlay (LBSU) 6-0, 6-3
4. Kanyapay Narattana (OKST) def. Anna Jeczmionka (LBSU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Maria Alvarez (OKST) vs. Karolina Rozenberg (LBSU), did not finish
6. Karyn Guttormsen (OKST) def. Anne-Sophie Willems (LBSU) 6-4, 6-1
 |