By
Lindsey Manroel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Third-ranked Gough and Blau eliminated in quarterfinals
The scene was all too familiar for the No. 3 ranked doubles team of Michelle Gough and Lindsay Blau. The UA tandem, rusty due to injury, was defeated once again by Texas.
The ITA All-American tournament, which began on Oct. 14, came to an end for Arizona's top doubles team Friday.
Gough and Blau, who have not played together much lately due to a knee injury that has kept Blau sidelined, couldn't seem to get any sort of a rhythm going.
"I think we were a little rusty since we haven't played together for so long," Gough said. "By the end, we just got sloppy and our momentum changed.'
After losing 6-1 in the first set to Vladka Uhlirova and Janet Walker of Texas, the Arizona tandem was able to rally back, picking up the second set, 6-2. H
However, according to Gough, the two got sloppy and made careless errors which eliminated them in the third set of the quarterfinals, 6-4.
"We both realized that it should have been our match," Gough said. "We were trying our hearts out and it was a case of not executing and nothing else."
The loss came as a disappointment to both Gough and Blau - the duo was defeated by Texas before in the 1999-2000 regular season.
The Wildcats, who prior to the tournament had a No. 3 national ranking, should not be affected in the polls after this past weekend's loss.
In singles action, Blau earned a spot in the 32-player main draw when Wake Forest's Bea Bielik withdrew from the tournament. However, Blau could not defeat USC's Jewel Peterson and was eliminated, 7-5, 6-3.
Freshman Wildcat Debbie Larocque had an impressive showing in her singles play. Although she was defeated in the qualifying draw after a five day winning streak, she managed to advance from the prequalifying bracket to the qualifying draw. Head coach Brad Dancer was pleased with her performance.
"Debbie was awesome," Dancer said. "She continues to be very offensive because she's so set on improving her game."
The Wildcats will have an opportunity to rally back from their losses when they compete in Fresno State Invitational next weekend in Fresno, Calif.
