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Bulls Roll Into Championship Final of MAC Tournament

Miglena Nenova

OXFORD, OH – One day after picking up its first-ever Mid-American Conference Championships victory, the University at Buffalo women’s tennis team added to the impressive ride this season with a 4-1 win over homestanding Miami (OH) in the semifinal round. The second-seeded Bulls will meet top-seeded Western Michigan on Sunday for the MAC title and the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Championships.

UB (16-4) pulled out the doubles point as the number two team of Miglena Nenova (Rousse, Bulgaria/Eurointellect) and Kristen Ortman (Amherst, NY/Amherst) defeated Miami’s Remy Swain and Maura Trauernicht, 8-6. The Bulls and RedHawks had split the other two matches. UB’s top duo, Andreea Novacenau (Bucharest, Romania/Emil Racovita) and Tina Jacob (Singapore/Raffles JC) downed Katrina Lomidze and Linda Jirouskova, 8-5, in the number one match. In the number three match, UB’s Natalie Dean (Feilding, New Zealand/Palmerston North) and Katrin Fischer (Ternitz, Austria/Borg) fell to Leda Pesatova and Victoria Pulido, 8-2.

Katrin Fischer

Miami briefly tied the match at 1-1 as Swain defeated Jacob in the number six contest, 6-4, 6-1, but from there the Bulls took control with three wins to take the match and claim their eight straight. UB also led two additional matches when play was halted.

In the number one match, Novaceanu, an All-MAC first team selection, rolled to a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Lomidze. It was Novaceanu’s 27th victory this season. Fischer, at number five, then came off the court with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Pulido to give the Bulls a 3-1 lead.

Nenova then sent the Bulls into the championship match with a three-set thriller over Pesatova. After dropping the opening set, 6-2, the UB junior, named to the All-MAC first team earlier in the week, took the final two sets, 6-0, 6-2, to give UB the 4-1 victory.

UB led in the number three and four matches when play was stopped and appeared poised to take those contests as well. At number three, Dean led Jirouskova, 7-5, 6-5 while at number four, Ortman led Kelly Douple, 4-6, 6-4, 5-2.

Sunday’s contest against top-seeded Western Michigan will be just the third time in school history that a UB team has advanced to the championship game of a MAC Tournament. The UB men’s basketball team accomplished the feat in the 2004-05 season and the men’s soccer team played in the league’s championship contest last fall.

“It’s going to be a really good match,” said MAC Coach of the Year Kathy Twist. “We’re ready for Western Michigan.”

The championship contest begins Sunday at 1:00 pm.

Doubles

1 Andreea Novaceanu/Tina Jacob (UB) d. Katrina Lomidze/Linda Jirouskova (MU), 8-5

2 Miglena Nenova/Kristen Ortman (UB) d. Remy Swain/Maura Trauernicht (MU), 8-6

3 Leda Pesatova/Victoria Pulido (MU) d. Natalie Dean/Katrin Fischer (UB), 8-2

Order of finish: 3 1 2

1 Andreea Novaceanu (UB) d. Katrina Lomidze (MU), 6-1, 7-5

2 Miglena Nenova (UB) d. Leda Pesatova (MU), 2-6, 6-0, 6-2

3 Natalie Dean (UB) led Linda Jirouskova (MU), 7-5, 6-5 DNF

4 Kristen Ortman (UB) led Kelly Douple (MU), 4-6, 6-4, 5-2 DNF

5 Katrin Fischer (UB) d. Victoria Pulido (MU), 6-2, 7-5

6 Remy Swain (MU) d. Tina Jacob (UB), 6-4, 6-1

Order of finish: 6 1 5 2