April 18, 2008

Box Score |SMU 4, USM 2

HOUSTON, Texas - The Southern Miss women's tennis team lost to SMU, 4-2, in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tennis Championship Friday, ending the season with an 8-6 record.

SMU opened the match, sweeping the doubles to take a 1-0 lead heading into the singles competition. Lindsey Norman and Sarah Acosta (SMU) used a tie-breaker in the No. 3 doubles to defeat Ali Blackett and Shannon Rogers, 9-8. Kristin Reid and Nicole Briceno (SMU) downed Lauren Gutterman and Sherry Price, 8-5, at No. 2 doubles, while No. 40 Natalia Bubien and Pavi Francis (SMU) battled Brittany Serret and Stephanie Dellocono, 8-5, at No. 1 doubles.

Southern Miss evened the match, 1-1, after Zoe Lee blanked Lindsey Norman in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 5 singles. Gutterman then gave the Lady Eagles a 2-1 lead with a 6-2, 6-1, win at No. 6 over Acosta.

SMU bounced back to take three of the last four matches. Francis defeated Blackett at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-3, to knot the match at 2-2. Briceno then downed Serret at No. 3 singles, 6-3,6 -1. No. 105 Bubien battled Price to a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 1.

SMU (11-9) moves on to play top-seeded Tulsa at 10 a.m., Saturday in the semifinals.