April 18, 2008

HOUSTON, Texas - East Carolina's season came to an end as the Lady Pirates dropped a 5-0 decision to top-seeded Tulsa in the quarterfinal round of the Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship Tournament Friday afternoon at the John E. Hoff Courts.

The Golden Hurricane (19-5), also ranked No. 48 nationally in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, will advance to the semifinals where they will meet rival SMU Saturday. Eighth-seeded ECU closed out its fourth consecutive winning season with a 17-6 record.

Tulsa quickly extended a 1-0 lead after doubles play by capturing four singles matches in straight sets. Agostina Sontoro and Rebecca Row cruised to 6-0, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1 wins over Tamara Sachs and Brooke Walter at the No. 6 and No. 4 positions, respectively. Thalia Diaz-Barriga followed with a 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Varinia Soler at No. 2 before Marta Marcinkowska handled Luiza Borges 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 5 slot.

Diaz-Barriga and Marcinkowska teamed up for an 8-4 triumph over Borges and Mireia Gol to open the doubles action at No. 2 while Alexandra Kichoutkin and Carla Zabaleta clinched the tally moments later with a similar 8-4 victory over Alex Smith and Walter at No. 1

No. 1 TULSA 5, No. 8 EAST CAROLINA 0
Singles Play
No. 1 - Alexandra Kichoutkin (TLS) vs. Jessica Cook (ECU); unfinished
No. 2 - Thalia Diaz-Barriga (TLS) def. Varinia Soler (ECU); 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 - Carla Zabaleta (TLS) vs. Mireia Gol (ECU); unfinished
No. 4 - Rebecca Row (TLS) def. Brooke Walter (ECU); 6-0, 6-1
No. 5 - Marta Marcinkowska (TLS) def. Luiza Borges (ECU); 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 - Agostina Sontoro (TLS) def. Tamara Sachs (ECU); 6-0, 6-0
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Kichoutkin/Zabaleta (TLS) def. Alex Smith/Walter (ECU); 8-4
No. 2 - Diaz-Barriga/Marcinkowska (TLS) def. Borges/Gol (ECU); 8-4
No. 3 - Row/Jie Zeng (TLS) vs. Hannah Priest/Soler (ECU); unfinished
Team Records: East Carolina 17-6, Tulsa 19-5