No. 24 Oklahoma
Mustangs Swept in Opening Round of NCAA Championships
5/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
BOX SCORE
WACO, Texas – The No. 38 Cal Poly women's tennis program's return to the NCAA Championships after an eight-year absence failed to produce a highlight result as the Mustangs were swept during the opening round on Saturday morning by 24th-ranked Oklahoma in a four-team regional hosted by fifth-seeded Baylor at the Baylor Tennis Center.
Oklahoma (19-6), which advanced to face seventh-ranked Baylor (26-3) during Sunday's second round, opened the match by sweeping the doubles point from Cal Poly (16-7). At No. 2, Mustang senior Ashley Pane (above) and junior Jocelyn Davis were bested by Ana Maria Constantinescu and Mia Lancaster, 8-5. Cal Poly's freshman tandem of Florence Lehane and Gabrielle Gatewood then fell by the same score at No. 3 versus Tara Eckel and Marie Pier Huet. With the doubles point conceded, the No. 1 match between Cal Poly senior Amy Markhoff and sophomore Alexa Lee and Oklahoma's Alica Radu and Whitney Ritchie was abandoned.
Cal Poly, whose only previous NCAA Championships appearance was a 4-0 loss against Georgia Tech in 2003, dropped all three singles matches that were played to completion. At No. 2, Pane fell versus Radu, 6-2, 6-1, before Mustang freshman Jen Cornea fell by the same scoreline at No. 4 against Ritchie. Oklahoma's Maria Kalashnikova then allowed the Sooners to prevail by whitewashing Markhoff at No. 6, 6-1, 6-0. Lee's match at No. 1, Lehane's contest at No. 3 and Davis's affair at No. 5 were each abandoned.
"We came out and played a solid doubles point, but Oklahoma has proven to be one of the top doubles teams in the nation. I thought we competed well in singles, but credit to Oklahoma: they were the better team today," said 11th-year head coach Hugh Bream, who finishes his Mustang managerial career with a 133-89 dual mark. "I thought this team gained valuable experience with having four freshmen in the lineup and a sophomore playing at the No. 1 singles position. Our number of victories (seven) versus ranked teams is also a tremendous achievement for the program. We experienced the goal of reaching the NCAA Championships and that bodes well for the continued improvement of the program."
Despite Saturday's defeat, Cal Poly's 2011 campaign ranks as, arguably, the finest during the program's Division I history. The Mustangs, who won nine-consecutive matches between Feb. 20 and April 2 to reach as high as No. 36 in the Campbell's Intercollegiate Tennis Rankings, finished 7-6 against ranked opposition. Behind a program-record seven Big West victories, Cal Poly finished second in the conference standings for a second-successive season.
The Mustangs are expected to return seven letterwinners from their 2011 spring squad.
