Under the sun, women's tennis rolls past Georgetown

The diversity of tennis matches is matched by few other sports. They can be played on grass, clay or concrete. They can be sheltered indoors or exposed to the elements outside.

Yesterday's match against Georgetown posed a particularly unique challenge for the Terrapin women's tennis team. For the first time all season, the Terps had to play outdoors as the sun hung overhead on the courts outside Cole Field House.

Again, though, the No. 34 Terps showed they had little trouble seizing victory, either inside or outside. Keyed by a sweep in their doubles matches for the seventh time this season, the Terps (10-2) dropped the Hoyas, 6-1.

"For our kids, this was our first outdoor match of the season," coach Howard Joffe said. "For anyone that knows anything about tennis, they know that it is a completely different sport outdoors. The kids battled enormously, and adapted well to the conditions."

The doubles team of junior standout Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar and freshman Jordaan Sanford remained undefeated in doubles play, taking their match in a tiebreaker 9-8 (8-6) and increasing their season streak to 12 straight matches.

Their strong play extended into the singles matches, where the Terps made quick work of the Hoyas and took the top three singles matches to easily clinch the overall match victory. Sanchez-Quintanar was victorious over Georgetown's Stephanie Wetmore 6-3, 6-0, for her 11th straight singles victory. The junior is undefeated in singles and doubles play this season.

The Terps got strong efforts and straight sets across the board as well, as Sanford, freshman Welma Luus, and sophomore Ana Belzunce all took their matches in two sets and limited their opponents to low scores. Sanford and Luus both claimed 6-1, 6-0 victories. But the intensity of play was hardly evident in the final scores.

"That was the toughest 6-1, 6-0 match I've ever seen," Joffe said of Sanford's win.

This dominating win for the Terps could give them the momentum needed to charge into next week's slate of play. The team will have three home games against cream-of-the-crop programs, beginning Sunday against No. 11 Virginia. Following their match with Virginia, the Terps will also host No. 3 North Carolina and No. 4 Duke next week.

The tough stretch offers a chance for the Terps to finally exorcise their ACC demons and win a match against a conference opponent. The Terps haven't won a league match since March 2009, when they defeated NC State.

Joffe, however, prefers to take it one step at a time, opting to focus on the team's play against the Hoyas before preparing for the three-headed monster that awaits them in the next week of play.

"Despite the score, we didn't play our best tennis today," Joffe said. "But the girls competed, which we will have to do against Virginia this weekend."

munson@umdbk.com