Stan stays undefeated in Florida

Every once in a while, even Goliath falls.

Women's tennis lost over the break for the second time this year, bowing in a marathon five-hour match to Central Florida, but not before thrashing Manhattan College and Hillsborough Community College to raise its record to 8-2.

Highlighting the week was the play of Smaranda Stan who, after claiming three victories during the road trip, is now 5-0. She is the only undefeated player on the team roster.

The Bulls' spring break began with a visit to Tampa, Fla., where Buffalo faced Hillsborough, one of the top junior colleges in the country. It was the first time this season that the Hawks of Hillsborough faced a Division I school.

The Bulls proved too much, running away with the 6-3 win. Buffalo was able to win two out of the three doubles tandems with the one loss coming at the No. 1 seed where senior Kristen Ortman and sophomore Natalie Dean fell to the Hawks' Hiroko Nishikawa and Amanda Yogus, 9-7.

The Bulls were then able to clinch the match by winning four victories in singles play. Ortman, sophomore Andreea Novaceanu, sophomore Tina Jacob, and sophomore Smaranda Stan all recorded singles victories. Stan defeated Hawks Chelsea Best 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 5 spot.

"Smaranda came in January and has just hit the ground running," said head coach Kathy Twist.

The second match brought an eight-hour bus ride and a record-breaking seventh shutout for the Bulls as they defeated the Jaspers of Manhattan, 7-0, in Orlando, Fla. The match opened up in doubles play where Ortman and Dean teamed up to defeat the Jaspers' Jennifer Fowler and Casey Conklin, 8-3.

The next two matches marked the first time this season that two doubles teams were able to shut out opponents. At the No. 2 spot, Novaceanu and Jacob cleaned up Jaspers Lindsey Keeler and Patrice Reiley, 8-0, while the No. 3 duo of Nenova and Stan scored an identical 8-0 win over Lindsay Spagnola and Men Nguyen of Manhattan.

The Jaspers were no contest for the Bulls in singles play as Buffalo won all six matches in straight sets. Nenova was forced into a tiebreaker but ended up defeating Fowler in the second-set tiebreaker, 7-3 to claim a 6-2, 7-6 win. At the No. 2 spot, Ortman downed Keeler 6-2, 6-4.

The match also saw two Bulls take double-bagel victories. Stan cruised by Jaspers Men Nguyen and Jacob defeated Jaspers Linsday Spagnola, both matches ending 6-0, 6-0.

"Manhattan was not the caliber of a team that we are," Twist said.

The final match of spring break was again played in Orlando, this time against the University of Central Florida. The five-hour contest was the longest the Bulls have played all season, falling 5-2 and ending a five-match winning streak.

The Bulls were able to win one out of three doubles matches with Novaceanu and Jacob defeating Jennifer Carati and Becky Gordon of Central Florida, 8-1. Falling for the third time over break was the pairing of Ortman and Dean, who lost 8-5.

The tandem is now 9-5, the second-best doubles pairing on the Bulls. Novaceanu and Jacob are leading with an overall record of 12-1.

The grueling match against Central Florida proved too match for the rest of the Bulls as Nenova, Ortman, Dean and Jacob all fell in singles play.

"The elements were rough and the match actually lasted longer then five hours since we arrived an hour before it kicked off to warm up," Twist said.

The Bulls, now in Buffalo after completing their spring break trip, look to rebound off their loss when Mid-American Conference play begins on Friday.

Buffalo goes into MAC play with the best overall record in the conference and travels to face MAC powerhouse Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Bulls will then complete the weekend with a visit to Bowling Green on Saturday.

Both matches begin at 1 p.m.