April 27, 2013  

Bearkats Pulls Off Shocker Over Cardinals

Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information

Freshman Maddie Mortimore fought off leg cramps in the third set to win the No. 5 singles 6-3 3-6 6-3 to cap the Bearkat women’s tennis team a 4-3 upset win over Lamar.

Mortimore’s victory put the winning point on the board as No. 6 seeded Sam Houston knocked off No. 3 seed Lamar on the Cardinals’ home court in the first round of the Southland Women’s Tennis Championship Friday in Beaumont.

The Bearkats now advance to face No. 2 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the semifinals.

It was a day full of drama with ups and downs for both teams.

Sam Houston earned early break points in two of the doubles pro sets but ended up losing the doubles point as Lamar won at No. 1 and 2 and the No. 3 match was abandoned.

The Bearkats, who lost four matches by narrow 4-3 matches this season, had never come back for a conference win after dropping the doubles point in 2013.

Seniors Tanya Postnikova and Nadia Dubyanskaya won at No. 1 and No. 6 singles. Postnikova defeated Carolina Salas 6-2 7-5 and Dubyanskaya battled to a 6-3 2-6 6-3 win.

The Bearkats’ first singles win came at No. 4 singles when Lamar’s Natalia Mayagoliti was forced to retire after injuring her knee at No. 4 singles. Mayagoliti was up 4-0 in the first set when the injury occurred. She tried to continue after an injury time out but retired with the score 4-1.

Sheridan Currie served for the No. 2 singles match at 6-2 5-4 but Carolina Maso battled back to win in three. After the Cardinals’ Dariya Dashutina downed Imke Jagau at No. 4, it was up to the Russian seniors.

Dubyanskaya won first to tie the match at 3-3. Battling leg craps, Mortimore took an injury time out at 4-3 then won the final two games to pull off the win.

The victory marks the second year in a row Sam Houston women’s tennis has knocked off a top seed to advance to the semifinals. The Kats knocked off No. 2 seed Texas State 4-3 in last year’s tournament.

FIRST ROUND SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENT RESULTS
SAM HOUSTON 4, LAMAR 3
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Carolina Salas/Helene Czudek (LU) def. Tatyana Postnikova/Nadia Dubyanskaya (SHSU), 8-6
No. 2 – Carolina Maso/Natalia Mayagoitia (LU) def. Sheridan Currie/Natalie Petaia (SHSU) 8-3
No. 3 – Alicia Porte/Dariya Dashutina (LU) vs. Maddie Mortimore/Imke Jagau (SHSU) DNF

SINGLES
No. 1 – Tatyana Postnikova (SHSU) def. Carolina Salas (LU) 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 – Carolina Maso (LU) def. Sheridan Currie (SHSU) 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
No. 3 – Dariya Dashutina (LU) def. Imke Jagau (SHSU) 6-1, 6-4
No. 4 – Natalie Petaia (SHSU) def. Natalia Mayagoitia (LU) 1-4, def. (injury)
No. 5 – Maddie Mortimore (SHSU) def. Alicia Porte (LU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
No. 6 – Nadia Dubyanskaya (SHSU) def. Helene Czudek (LU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3

In other singles action Friday, Carolina Maso defeated Sheridan Currie 2-6 7-5 6-1 and Dariya Dashutina won over Imke Jagau 6-1 6-4 at No. 2 and 3 singles, respectively.

About Cheval John

Cheval John is the Founder and CEO of Vallano Media, LLC, a marketing agency which helps small to mid-sized businesses use social media correctly to build a loyal following and in the process become more profitable. Cheval was the host of "What's The Word?" a podcast about finding out what inspires people to choose their respective careers and how social media impacted their lives and business He is the author of two books including the Amazon Best-Seller, "8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn." He has spoken at Social Media Week Lima in Ohio and at Social Media Day Houston 2017 about topics around live streaming and podcasting. Cheval has been featured in media outlets including Ebony Magazine, Social Media Today and Forbes. He was named a Houston Top 25 Social Media Power Influencer (2016 and 2017) and a Twitter (Now X)Top 50 Influencer by Onalytica in 2018.

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