May 15, 1998
LAS VEGAS - Unseeded San Diego State won four of six singles matches en route to upsetting third-seeded San Diego 5-2 in the first round of the NCAA women's tennis regional being played on the campus of UNLV Friday.
The Aztecs, ranked 31st, improved to 16-6 while the Toreros, ranked 28th, finished the season at 12-9 overall. The win avenged a 5-4 loss to USD on April 21 at SDSU.
"We just played them last month and they beat us," SDSU Head Coach Peter Mattera said. "The difference today was that we played with conviction and came out a lot more intense. The results speak to that. This is a good win for us and a good start to hopefully a long weekend in Las Vegas."
SDSU got wins from Dorota Wozniak, Sarah Donovan, Whitney Wells and Merete Lindahl to take a 4-2 lead after singles play. The No. 3 doubles team of Wells and Wozniak clinched the match with an 8-4 victory over Steffi Hesse and Krista Manning.
San Diego's two points came from singles victories by Zuzana Lesenarova and Anja Tragardh.
"There were two reasons for losing," USD Head Coach Sherri Stephens said. "San Diego State played aggressive, clean tennis. And we backe off and tried to force it and made too many errors."
SDSU now moves into Saturday's semifinal vs. the winner of Friday's Washington-Southern California match.
1998 NCAA WEST REGION WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP--QUARTERFINALSSAN DIEGO STATE 5, SAN DIEGO 2At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas
SINGLES-1. Zuzana Lesenarova (USD) def. Maggie Cole (SDSU) 6-4, 7-62. Dorota Wozniak (SDSU) def. Brigid Joyce (USD) 6-0, 6-23. Sarah Donovan (SDSU) def. Mirja Wallmark (USD) 6-2, 6-44. Anja Tragardh (USD) def. Jeanette Bhaguandas (SDSU) 6-3, 6-15. Whitney Wells (SDSU) def. Tasha Jackson (USD) 6-1, 6-36. Molly Lindahl (SDSU) def. Millie Prior (USD) 6-1, 6-2
DOUBLES--1. Bhaguandas/Donovan (SDSU) vs. Joyce/Lesenarova (USD) Halted2. Cole/Papi (SDSU) vs. Wallmark/Jackson (USD) Halted3. Wells/Wozniak (SDSU) def. Kristi Hesse/Krista Manning (USD) 8-4*
*clinching match
