April 28, 2017
Las Vegas, Nev.----- San Jose State University's nationally-ranked and #1-singles player Sybille Gauvain overcame a one-set deficit for a 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4 win over University of New Mexico's Ludivine Burguiere and give the Spartans a 4-3 win in a Mountain West Women's Tennis Championship quarterfinal round match.
Gauvain, ranked #100 in the April 25 Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, broke Burguiere's serve four times in the final set to win. To send San Jose State into the April 29 semifinal round against #7-seed Air Force, Gauvain held a 5-4 third-set lead, was serving for the victory, but was down 30-15. She won the next three points for her 20th singles win of the season.
"Sybille gutted it out. In the end, she was more consistent when it mattered the most," said San Jose State women's tennis head coach Chad Skorupka about the match that was played mainly from the baseline.
San Jose State (12-7), the #3-seed in the tournament, trailed, 1-0, after losing two of three doubles matches. Gauvain and her partner, Marie Klocker, won quickly at #1-doubles, 6-1, over Rachana Bhat and Dominique Dulski, but Spartan pairs Marine Dans and Gaelle Rey and Tamara Culibrk and Miyo Kobayashi both lost close matches.
New Mexico (8-14), the 11th seed, sought its second upset win on consecutive days.
"I had the three seniors (Klocker, Dans & Rey) talk to the team (between the doubles and singles matches)," explained Skorupka about his strategy to get his players back on track.
Singles wins by Rey and Culibrk in straight sets and Klocker in three sets gave the Spartans a 3-2 lead in the seven-point team scoring system. Diana Wong of New Mexico (8-14) outlasted Dans, 1-6, 7-5, 6-0 to tie the score at 3-3 leaving the match to each team's best singles players.
"I told Sybille, `you've been here before." She persevered," the Spartans coach said.
San Jose State and Air Force (18-9) are playing in the 2:00 p.m. (PT) semifinal on The Mountain West Network. The #7-seed Falcons upset #2-Fresno State, 4-3, to advance.
"This was a good wake-up call. We're going to play a team (Air Force) that is hot, too," Skorupka concluded about the Spartans' semifinal round opponent. #1-UNLV and #4-Wyoming are playing in the morning semifinal.
San Jose State University Women's Tennis
2017 Mountain West Championship
Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas, Nev.
April 28, 2017
Quarterfinal Round match: San Jose State (SJSU) 4, New Mexico (UNM) 3.
| Doubles |
| Sybille Gauvain & Marie Klocker (SJSU) def. Rachana Bhat & Dominique Dulski (UNM), 6-1 |
| Emily Olivier & Diana Wong (UNM) def. Marine Dans & Gaelle Rey (SJSU), 6-4 |
| Ludivine Burguiere & Cassie Chung (UNM) def. Tamara Culibrk & Miyo Kobayashi (SJSU), 7-6 (7-4) |
| Order of finish: (1, 2, 3) |
| Singles |
| #100 Sybille Gauvain (SJSU) & Ludivine Burguiere (UNM) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4 |
| Marie Klocker (SJSU) & Ruth Copas (UNM), 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 |
| Diana Wong (UNM) def. Marine Dans (SJSU), 1-6, 7-5, 6-0 |
| Tamara Culibrk (SJSU) & Dominique Dulski (UNM), 7-5, 6-3 |
| Rachana Bhat (UNM) def. Miyo Kobayashi (SJSU), 6-1, 6-2 |
| Gaelle Rey (SJSU) def. Cassie Chung (UNM), 6-3, 6-2 |
| Order of finish: (5, 6, 4, 2, 3, 1) |
| Team Records: San Jose State - 12-7; New Mexico, 8-14. |