The No. 42 University of South Florida women’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship with a 4-1 win over Marquette on Friday at the Leeper Parker Tennis Center in South Bend, Ind. The Bulls earned a point in doubles play and got singles wins from Alessandra Bonte, Irene Rehberger and Janette Bejlkova to pick up their 10th win of the season.
“It was a fight in doubles, and I was proud of the way we played under some challenging circumstances,” USF head coach Agustin Moreno said. “It was good to get this first win behind us against a good Syracuse team. I think we’re mentally ready to play the rest of the tournament.”
Bonte was the first Bull to finish her match, downing Christina Tan, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 5. Her win was quickly followed by Rehberger’s 6-4, 6-3 victory over Emily Harman Harman at No. 1.
After Kate Parker dropped her match to Aleah Marrow, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6, Janette Bejlkova ended the match with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Maddie Kobelt at No. 3.
Ecaterina Vasenina and Loreto Alonso Martinez were both early in third sets when the match ended.
Martinez and Bejlkova earlier clinched the doubles point with a 9-7 win over Harman and Kobelt at No. 1. Rehberger and Vasenina shutout Simone Kalhorn and Marrow, 8-0 at No. 2 to set up the win.
The Bulls are scheduled to take on either DePaul or Rutgers in the semifinals at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
No. 2 USF, 4 vs. No. 7 Syracuse, 1
Match 7-Women
April 29, 2011
Leeper Parker Tennis Center, 9:30 a.m.
Doubles:
1. Janette Bejlkova/Loreto Alonso Martinez (USF) def. Emily Harman/Maddie Kobelt (SU), 9-7*
2. Irene Rehberger/Ecaterina Vasenina (USF) def. Simone Kalhorn/Aleah Marrow (SU), 8-0
3. Christina Tan/Alessondra Parra (SU) def. Alessandra Bonte/Kate Parker (USF), 8-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*
Singles:
1. Irene Rehberger (USF) def. Emily Harman (SU), 6-4, 6-3
2. Ecaterina Vasenina (USF) vs. Aleah Parra (SU), 6-4, 5-3 DNF
3. Janette Bejlkova (USF) def. Maddie Kobelt (SU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2*
4. Loreto Alonso Martinez (USF) vs. Simone Kalhorn (SU), 6-2, 1-6, 1-0
5. Alessandra Bonte (USF) def. Christina Tan (SU), 6-1, 6-3
6. Aleah Marrow (SU) def. Kate Parker (USF), 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 6, 3*
Duration of Match: 2:35
