March 15, 2009

SANTA BARBARA, CA - Cal State Fullerton women's tennis suffered another setback Sunday with a 7-0 Big West Conference loss to UC Santa Barbara at the Rob Gym tennis courts in Santa Barbara.

CSF head coach Bill Reynolds was happy to see that two of his top players were ready for action after retiring from their singles matches early in the match against Cal Poly on Saturday. Leslie Bullock and Shelly Injejikian were feeling much better and ready to go Sunday.

Reynolds elation didn't last long though, when he saw another of his players, Cheyenne Inglis, turn her ankle while going after a ball in a doubles match to start the day. Inglis and Injejikian were trailing UCSB's Jill Damion and Natalia Lozano 5-1 when Inglis couldn't finish, and was forced to retire.

The doubles team of Brandy Andrews and Jaycee Cruz kept things competitive in their 8-4 loss to Michelle Murphy and Sofia Novak.

In the No. 3 doubles match Leslie Bullock returned from her hip injury to team up with Lani Agsalud for the first time ever. The newly formed team couldn't find their rhythm though, and lost 8-3 to the UCSB team of Bryanna Ojeda and Asagi Onaga.

With Inglis ruled out for the singles matches, Reynolds slotted Agsalud into the No. 6 position. Inglis had played in the No. 4 position in Saturday's match with Cal Poly, so the insertion of Agsalud into the No. 6 spot moved Andrews back to No. 5 and Cruz back to the No. 4 position. Both players have played the majority of their matches in those positions this season.

At the No. 2 position Injejikian showed signs of her injury from the previous day in the first set of her match with Damion. After losing 1-6 in the first set Injejikian battled to a 5-7 loss in the second set.

Andrews pushed her No. 5 position match with Ojeda to three sets after losing the first set 1-6, then bouncing back with a 6-2 win in the second set. Ojeda would mimic her first set performance in the third set, taking the match with a 6-1 win.

Karina Akhmedova sat out the doubles portion of the CSF's match with the Gauchos, but couldn't seem to get anything going against Novak in a straight sets 2-6, 2-6 loss.

The Titans return home to host a rare Wednesday match against Columbia University on March 18 at 2 p.m.

NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS
Cal State Fullerton 0, UC Santa Barbara 7

Singles
1 Michelle Murphy (UCSB) def. Leslie Bullock (CSF), 6-1, 6-2
2 Jill Damion (UCSB) def. Shelley Injejikian (CSF), 6-1, 7-5
3 Sofia Novak (UCSB) def. Karina Akhemdova (CSF), 6-2, 6-2
4 Natalia Lozano (UCSB) def. Jerusha Cruz (CSF), 6-0, 6-0
5 Bryanna Ojeda (UCSB) def. Brandy Andrews (CSF), 6-1, 2-6, 6-1
6 Asagi Onaga (UCSB) def. Lani Agsalud (CSF), 6-0, 6-0


Doubles
1. Damion/Lozano (UCSB) def. Inglis/Injejikian (CSF), 5-1, retired
2. Murphy/Novak (UCSB) def. Andrews/Cruz (CSF), 8-4
3. Ojeda/Onaga (UCSB) def. Bullock/Agsalud (CSF), 8-3