No. 8 UC Riverside defeated No. 9 Cal State Fullerton, 5-0, in the first round of the 2009 Big West Women's Tennis Championship at Indian Wells Tennis Garden Thursday.  The Highlanders will face top-seeded Long Beach State at 9:00 am in Friday's quarterfinals.

The Highlanders captured the doubles point to go up 1-0 in the match after winning at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.  Donna McCullough and Angelique Corpuz clinched the point with their 8-4 triumph at No. 2 against the TItan duo of Brandy Andrews and Karina Akhmedova.

In singles, the Highlanders won matches at positions No. 1, 2, 3 and 6 to close out the Titans.  McCullough finished her 6-1, 6-2 win against Shelly Injejikian at No. 2 at the same time Anna Higane completed her 6-3, 6-0 triumph against Jaycee Cruz at No. 6, giving the Highlanders their 5-0 decision. 

Erynne Oki won her eighth consecutive singles match at No. 1 after earning a 6-1, 6-3 win against Leslie Bullock.

UC Riverside improves to 9-10 on the year while Cal State Fullerton concludes its season 3-20.

BIG WEST WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN • INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2009 • FIRST ROUND
NO. 8 UC RIVERSIDE 5, NO. 9 CAL STATE FULLERTON 0

DOUBLES
1. Oki/Plata (UCR) def. Injejikian/Inglis (CSF) - 8-2
2. McCullough/Corpuz (UCR) def. Andrews/Akhmedova (CSF) - 8-4
3. Sakhakorn/Higane (UCR) vs. Bullock/Cruz (CSF) - DNF

Order of Finish: 1, 2

SINGLES
1. Erynne Oki (UCR) def. Leslie Bullock (CSF) - 6-1, 6-3
2. Donna McCullough (UCR) def. Shelly Injejikian (CSF) - 6-1, 6-2
3. Nadia Sakhakorn (UCR) def. Cheyenne Inglis (CSF) - 6-0, 6-2
4. Angelique Corpuz (UCR) vs. Karina Akhmedova (CSF) - DNF
5. Roxanne Plata (UCR) vs. Brandy Andrews (CSF) - DNF
6. Anna Higane (UCR) def. Jaycee Cruz (CSF) - 6-3, 6-0

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 6, 2