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Bulls Win Three Singles Titles at Cornell

Andreea Novaceanu

ITHACA, NY – The University at Buffalo's women's tennis season began over the weekend with the Cornell Invitational as three Bulls won singles titles in the tournament's four flights while a pair of doubles squads played in the championship matches in their brackets.

Juniors Andreea Novaceanu (Bucharest, Romania/Emil Racovita) and Smaranda Stan (Stantu Gheorghe, Romania/Economic) and freshman Diana Toia (Rochester, NY/Brighton) each claimed singles titles in their respective brackets. Doubles tandems Denise Harijanto (Jakarta, Indonesia) and Miglena Nenova (Rousse, Bulgaria/Eurointellect) and Natalie Dean (Feilding, New Zealand/Palmerston North) and Toia reached the finals of the doubles flights falling in the championship matches.

Novaceanu took the Flight A title with wins over Cornell opponents in the semifinals and finals. In the championship match on Sunday, she defeated Kasia Preneta, 6-3, 6-1 after advancing past Tamara John, 6-4, 7-5, in the semifinals earlier in the day. Novaceanu, who opened play with a bye to the second round, defeated Lehigh's Gwen Dwyer, 6-1, 7-6 (6) in her opening match.

Smaranda Stan

In the C bracket, Stan needed a third-set super-tiebreaker victory over Cornell's Shayna Miller to claim the title. Stan dropped the opening set in a tiebreaker, but rallied to tie the match with a 6-1 win in the second set. In the 10-point super-tiebreaker, Stan prevailed, defeating Miller 10-7. Stan opened play on Saturday with a victory over Lehigh's Francesca Murasko-Blank and a 13-11 super-tiebreaker victory over Cornell's Dana Cruite. She cruised into the finals on Sunday with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Cornell's Ashley Ebbert in the semifinals.

Toia took the D bracket championship with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Army's Kristin Beehler. Toia reached the finals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Cornell's Weatherly Schwab in the semifinals. On Saturday, she downed Colgate's Jackie Stimmel and Lehigh's Victoria Vityuk on her road to the title.

Harijanto and Nenova were stopped in their quest for the Flight A doubles title in grueling final against Cornell's Catherine Duboc and Miller, 9-8, as the UB duo fell in a tiebreaker, 11-9. Harijanto and Nenova earned a first-round bye and scored two victories on their way to the finals.

In the Flight B doubles championship, Dean and Toia were stopped by Marist's sister duo of Alexandra and Cassandra Strange, 8-4. Dean and Toia, like Harijanto and Nenova, picked up a first-round bye before dumping tandems from Lehigh and Cornell to reach the final.

All seven of UB's singles players and its four doubles tandems earned either first-round wins or byes to the second round enabling the Bulls to compete in the winners brackets throughout the three-day event.

The Bulls travel to the Princeton Invitational next weekend.

UB Results

Singles

Flight A

Andreea Novaceanu (UB) d. Gwen Dwyer (Lehigh), 6-1, 7-6 (6)

Andreea Novaceanu (UB) d. Tamara John (Cornell), 6-4, 7-5

Andreea Novaceanu (UB) d. Kasia Preneta (Cornell), 6-3, 6-1

Flight B

Natalie Dean (UB) d. Alexandra Strange (Marist), 6-0, 6-4

Elizabeth Googe (Cornell) d. Natalie Dean (UB), 7-5, 6-1

Denise Harijanto (UB) d. Allie Schwartz (Lehigh), 6-3, 6-4

Denise Harijanto (UB) d. Elisa DeRose (Colgate), 6-3, 6-1

Catherine Duboc (Cornell) d. Denise Harijanto (UB), by default

Flight C

Katrin Fischer (UB) d. Bridie Burke (Army), 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)

Katrin Fischer (UB) d. Julie Arthofer (Lehigh), 6-2, 6-3

Shayna Miller (Cornell) d. Katrin Fischer (UB), 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7)

Smaranda Stan (UB) d. Francesca Murasko-Blank (Lehigh), 6-4, 6-3

Smaranda Stan (UB) d. Dana Cruite (Cornell), 3-6, 6-0, 1-0 (13-11)

Smaranda Stan (UB) d. Ashley Ebbert (Cornell), 6-0, 6-3

Smaranda Stan (UB) d. Shayna Miller (Cornell), 6-7 (4), 6-1, 1-0 (10-7)

Flight D

Diana Toia (UB) d. Jackie Stimmell (Colgate), 6-3, 6-1

Diana Toia (UB) d. Christine Limsiaco (Army)

Diana Toia (UB) d. Weatherly Schwab (Cornell), 6-1, 6-3

Diana Toia (UB) d. Kristin Beehler (Army), 6-0, 6-3

Tina Jacob (UB) d. Kate Houghton (Army), 6-4, 6-1

Tina Jacob (UB) d. Cameron Thaney (Colgate), 6-0, 6-1

Kristin Beehler (Army) d. Tina Jacob (UB), 6-4, 7-6 (5)

Doubles

Flight A

Denise Harijanto/Miglena Nenova (UB) d. Alexis Jacobi/Francesca Murasko-Blank (Lehigh), 8-0

Denise Harijanto/Miglena Nenova (UB) d. Kasia Preneta/Elizabeth Googe (Cornell), 8-6

Catherine Duboc/Shayna Miller (Cornell) d. Denise Harijanto/Miglena Nenova (UB), 9-8 (9)

Andreea Novaceanu/Tina Jacob (UB) d. Nikki Flach/Jessica Shurtz (Army), 8-6

Nisha Suda/Tamara John (Cornell) d. Andreea Novaceanu/Tina Jacob (UB), 9-8 (3)

Flight B

Natalie Dean/Diana Toia (UB) d. Allie Schwartz/Julie Arthofer (Lehigh), 8-1

Natalie Dean/Diana Toia (UB) d. Dana Cruite/Weatherly Schwab (Cornell), 8-6

Alexandra Strange/Cassandra Strange (Marist) d. Natalie Dean/Diana Toia (UB), 8-4

Smaranda Stan/Katrin Fischer (UB) d. Lindsay Grossman/Elisa DeRose (Colgate), by default

Alexandra Strange/Cassandra Strange (Marist) d. Smaranda Stan/Katrin Fischer (UB), 8-5