Women's tennis grounds Rockets

The women's tennis team catapulted to a 5-1 start after playing its first Mid-American Conference match against Toledo on Friday. The Bulls scored a decisive 6-1 victory against the Rockets.

After scoring the doubles point by winning two of the three matches, the Bulls (5-2 overall, 1-1 MAC) went on to win five of the remaining six singles matches.

"It was a great start," said Bulls' head coach Kathy Twist. "It was the first time this team has ever beat Toledo, and I think it sends a message to the rest of the MAC that we're for real."

If it was a message that the Bulls were trying to send, Twist could not have asked for a better delivery. Three out of the six total singles matches were won in straight sets as Andreea Novaceanu, Kristen Ortman, and Tina Jacob never even had to play their third set.

"It was 6 and 1, the doubles were strong, everybody had good matches and had to battle right to the end so I was proud of all the girls," said Twist.

"We had a very good win," said senior Onessa Williams. "We were very motivated and determined to win. We came out very focused and all the practice that we did during the week paid off."

Freshman Sabrina Carmona kept her perfect win streak intact after beating Sarah Vandermolen 10-5 in the super-tiebreaker. Carmona forced the tiebreaker with a 6-4 win in the second set to make up for her 1-6 first set loss.

"We have a motto," said Twist. "Keep it simple with maximum effort. Simple play, simple strategy, look at every ball, do what you can do, wait for your shot. It's work, work, work until you get the short ball and then you put it away."

When asked about her outlook on the rest of the season Williams could not have been more optimistic.

"I think we have a very good outlook, from winning against Toledo along with Niagara, that puts us in a good position and builds our confidence up," said the senior. "I feel we have a chance this year. Last year we did well, but this year I think we have a great chance to do really well in the MAC. A lot of teams are going to be looking out for us because we have a lot coming their way."

Bulls falter against EMU

With a 5-2 decision over the Bulls, the Eastern Michigan Eagles handed UB its first conference loss.

The conference champions from two years ago started off strong, taking the doubles point 2-1. Only Miglena Nenova and Kristen Ortman were able to top their EMU opponents, with the tandem scoring an 8-6 victory. Although the Bulls lost the doubles point, the team was still able to draw many positives from the doubles competition.

"The third doubles just played awesome, Katrin Fischer and Sabrina Carmona, they started slow but they got their communication together and they got their intensity up," said Coach Twist. "They were able to meet a very good team and bring it really, really close, and they almost won it."

In the sixth singles match, Tina Jacob was able to come back from a 3-6 first set defeat to beat EMU's Flavia Micati 6-4 in the second set. Jacob claimed one of the two singles victories for the Bulls with a 10-7 super-tiebreak win.

Even with the loss to Eastern Michigan, the season looks bright for the Bulls, who travel to Bowling Green and Ball State this weekend, where they will look to improve even further on their already strong record.

"We have to play our own game," Williams. "You want to work the point until you actually get your own shot and that's how you win your points. You can't play according to how your opponent plays. If you do that you'll be rushing a lot of your shots and you won't get what you want."

Along with Jacob, Nenova at the number two spot easily toppled EMU's Elizabeth Syrova in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 to give the Bulls their other singles victory.

While some lose focus after a defeat, Twist's team is able to learn from it and use it to work towards winning throughout the rest of the season.

"EMU were the champions two years ago, a real powerhouse team, so to come close in doubles, or singles, is a really good sign. We've seen what they have and we know what we can do now."