MIDLAND, Mich. —The Michigan Tech women's tennis team won
two of three matches to finish fifth at the Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament over the weekend.
The Huskies (7-5) lost a heartbreaker, 5-4 to Ashland in the
opening round before defeating Saginaw Valley State 5-2 and Ferris
State 5-3.
"We're not unhappy," said head coach Mike
Axford. "We were shooting to finish higher, but we won two of
three and were really close in the other match. It's also good to
beat a team we lost to earlier (Ferris State)."
Tech received the No. 6 seed in the tournament and faced No. 3
Ashland in the opening round on Saturday (Oct. 25). The marathon
match took more than five hours to complete and saw the team score
lead change hands several times. AU led 2-1 after doubles but
needed to win the final two singles matches out on the courts to
secure the 5-4 victory. The closest match of the afternoon saw
Silvia Oliveros and Nathalia Rondelli take a 7-4 lead in their
No. 1 doubles match vs. Ashland before the Eagles prevailed, 9-8
(3).
In Saturday's second round vs. No. 7-seeded SVSU, Michigan Tech
trailed 2-1 after doubles again. This time the Huskies responded by
winning each of the first four completed singles matches to put the
match away. One of those four wins was Victoria Zhilkina's 6-2, 6-1
result at No. 1.
No. 5-seeded Ferris State was Tech's opponent in today's
fifth-place match, and the Huskies exacted some revenge for an
earlier season loss. No. 3 doubles duo Samantha
Jang-Stewart and Danielle Stoll claimed a 9-8 (1) victory
and helped the Black and Gold open the match with a 2-1 lead after
doubles. Tech then swept the top three singles flights for a 5-3
team win.
Overall, Zhilkina was undefeated on the weekend with six total wins
— three in singles and three in doubles. Otunchieva also went
undefeated with five wins as one of her singles matches was left
unfinished with the team score already decided.
Michigan Tech wrapped up its 2008 fall season with a 7-4 overall
record. All-GLIAC teams will be announced early next week.
