Women's tennis wins second straight vs. ranked foe

After a win at No. 64 Brown last weekend, a match at No. 46 Harvard yesterday offered the Terrapin women's tennis team the opportunity to do what at one point in recent years might have seemed impossible: win two straight matches against ranked opponents.

But with a surprising and decisive 6-1 victory against the Crimson, the No. 71 Terps (5-1) took yet another step toward changing a long-pessimistic program culture.

"It was a great victory for the team," Ana Belzunce said. "We have been working really hard, and the last victories we had motivated us to keep going. We are improving each day to perform better in the next matches."

The Terps' victory began with standout play in the doubles matches. After the teams split the first two contests, the Terps' Belzunce and Welma Luus clinched the doubles point with a 9-7 win over Hannah Morrill and Samantha Rosekrans.

Belzunce, a sophomore transfer from Spain, also clinched the overall victory for the Terps with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 singles victory over Kristin Norton.

Harvard captain Holly Cao, ranked No. 45 nationally, was the lone Crimson member to pick up a singles victory against the Terps in a competitive day of matches. Excluding Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar's dominating 6-4, 6-4 win over Hideko Tachibana, all of the Terps' singles victories went to three sets.

"I'm really proud of how the girls competed," assistant coach Dianne Matias said. "Today's match could have gone either way, but everyone stayed tough and kept fighting."

The men's team didn't have the same result at home yesterday, when they faced No. 29 Virginia Tech. Although the Terps (4-2, 0-2 ACC) lost all three doubles matches in the eventual 5-2 defeat, they rallied early in singles. After sophomore John Collins fell in straight sets, sophomores Sergio Wyss and Tommy Laine both picked up critical victories, leaving a chance for the last two competitors, No. 36 Maros Horny and Andrew Magee, to finish what would have been a remarkable comeback.

That comeback never materialized, with Horny losing, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, and Magee squandering a late lead in his third set to fall, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2).

"I fully expected us to compete with this team," coach Kyle Spencer said. "They are very good and were a top-25 team last year. We knew it was going to be a tough match, and it is disappointing to not get the results that you want. Character is about how this team bounces back, and this team is made up of good character."

The Terps will get their chance at home Friday against UNC-Wilmington. The women's team continues its road trip when it heads to Blacksburg, Va., to play the Hokies on Saturday.

munson@umdbk.com