University of North Texas
Denver
Starkova Sends NT to SBC Championship Match
4/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
DENTON, Texas - Junior Valentina Starkova sent North Texas tennis to its second Sun Belt Conference Championship match when she rallied fof a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 win to seal the 4-2 victory over the Denver Pioneers Saturday at the Waranch Tennis Complex.
Starkova, who did not register a record in her match Friday, won a third-set thriller on court three Saturday.
"Today was all about heart," said associate head coach Jeff Maren. "We played an outstanding Denver team, and needed an inspirational performance by Valentina to produce the win. Now we must prepare for another tough match tomorrow against FIU."The 59th-rated Mean Green (17-6) took the doubles point for the ninth-straight time with wins from the No. 1 and No. 3 duos.
Court three saw seniors Irina Paraschiv and Paula Dinuta jump out to a commanding 7-0 lead on DU's (12-11) Caroline Schnell and Natalie Dun en route to an 8-3 victory.
The No. 1 tandem of Nadia Lee and Barbora Vykydalova captured its ninth with of the season with a win over the Pioneers All-Sun Belt Conference doubles team of Sophia Bergner and Steffi Rath, 8-5.
Freshman Kseniya Bardabush and Starkova registered a 7-5 (unfinished) result on court two.
North Texas yet again extended its lead right off the bat, with Dinuta commanding play on court six to a 6-1, 6-3 win. The senior has now won six-straight matches and has assembled the best record on the team at 15-6 on the year.
Denver would begin to battle back from there, taking its first point of the match at No. 4 singles when Emma Isberg defeated Vykydalova in dominating fashion, 6-2, 6-3.
Another senior put the Mean Green on the brink of advancing to the SBC Championship when Lee secured the third NT point from the No. 2 singles slot with a 6-1, 6-2 victory.But Rath would go on to narrow the gap for the Pioneers once again with a hard-fought, three-set win over Mean Green junior Ilona Serchenko, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
With two matches remaining to be completed and North Texas leading 3-2, all eyes turned to Court three and the battle between Starkova and Schnell.
After taking the first set, the Mean Green junior found herself down four games to one in the second stanza and battled back to take over the lead 5-4. Schnell rebounded by winning the next three and the set, 7-5.
The third set followed suit, with Starkova jumping out to a 4-1 lead before Schnell won four in a row for the Pioneers to take the 5-4 lead. With her back against the wall, the NT junior transfer dug deep and won the final three games to seal the match for North Texas, 4-2.
"We prepared for this type of match all year long with our conditioning and play, so I was happy to get the chance to show everyone what I have," said Starkova. "I knew halfway through the third match that I was one of the last matches on, so I wanted to give everything I had for my team."
The Mean Green will face No. 2 seed FIU in the Sun Belt Conference Championship match Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Waranch Tennis Complex. As always, admission is free of charge.
Denver Pioneers vs North Texas (Apr 21, 2012)
#59 North Texas 4, Denver Pioneers 2Apr 21, 2012 at Denton, Texas (Waranch Tennis Complex)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Kseniya Bardabush (NT) vs. Sophia Bergner (DEN-W) 4-6, 7-5, 3-4, unfinished |
| 2. Nadia Lee (NT) def. Elena Najera (DEN-W) 6-1, 6-2 |
| 3. Valentina Starkova (NT) def. Caroline Schnell (DEN-W) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 |
| 4. Emma Isberg (DEN-W) def. Barbora Vykydalova (NT) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 5. Steffi Rath (DEN-W) def. Ilona Serchenko (NT) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 |
| 6. Paula Dinuta (NT) def. Natalie Dunn (DEN-W) 6-1, 6-3 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Nadia Lee/Barbora Vykydalova (NT) def. Sophia Bergner/Steffi Rath (DEN-W) 8-5 |
| 2. Valentina Starkova/Kseniya Bardabush (NT) vs. Elena Najera/Emma Isberg (DEN-W) 7-5, unfinished |
| 3. Irina Paraschiv/Paula Dinuta (NT) def. Caroline Schnell/Natalie Dunn (DEN-W) 8-3 |
| Match Notes |
| Denver Pioneers 12-11 |
| North Texas 17-6; National ranking #59 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,4,2,5,3) |
Generated on 4/21/2012
Players Mentioned
