By
Lindsey Manroel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Gough and Regnier fall short in finals
Although Arizona women's tennis coach Brad Dancer was reuniting with a longtime friend and coaching partner - Kevin Epley of Fresno State - it was a disappointing weekend for the Wildcat women.
"It wasn't the best weekend for Arizona tennis," Dancer said. "But we've learned specific things about each girl on what she can do to play better."
Despite the Northern California rain that delayed the tournament for four hours Friday morning, the UA tennis squad won 10 of its 12 singles matches and sent all three doubles teams to the second round of play at the Fresno State Invitational.
Senior and No. 3 seed Michelle Gough earned a first-round bye and advanced to the quarterfinals after her victory against San Jose State's Vanessa Pinot, 6-1, 6-1, in the third round.
In the quarterfinals, Gough kept her winning streak alive, beating Pacific's Christiane Barthel, 6-4, 6-2. Barthel, the No. 6 seed, who eliminated UA teammate Perrine Pernin, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round.
"It was pretty satisfying to get some revenge for my teammate," Gough said. "I was confident going into that match because I had a game plan after seeing her play Perrine. I knew that she hit deep balls, and I could adapt without having to feel it out for myself."
After heavy rain evacuated the courts - delaying the semifinals - Gough's streak was snapped by top seeded Kim Niggemeyer of Fresno State. The UA senior was defeated, 6-1, 6-4.
"I gave my best but it wasn't good enough," Gough said. "I was really tired from playing five matches the day before and physically I wasn't able to give 100%. It was incredibly frustrating for me. I knew she wasn't better than me by any means, I was just fatigued."
Dancer said that Gough did not perform up to her potential.
"I think that Michelle didn't have her best tennis with her this weekend," Dancer said. "Mentally, she really hung in there and got out some good matches. I definitely think she was capable of winning that match against Niggemeyer.
"Kim is a very good defensive player and to beat her, you need to frustrate her. But due to her speed, she exposed our weaknesses and we had a tough time against her."
Unfortunately for junior Lindsay Blau - UA's No. 2 seed in the tournament - was not able to advance any further than the third round of singles play.
Blau, after earning a first round bye, easily captured a second round victory against Pacific's Melinda Kochsis, 6-1, 6-2.
One round later, Blau fell to Fresno State's Simone Jardim 6-2, 6-3, eliminating her from the tournament.
"Lindsay suffered a tough loss," Dancer said. "She came out a little flat and a little nervous. There was a lot of pressure on her and expectations to win. I think it could be a good learning experience for her and the next time her preparation might be a little different. I don't think it will detract what se's capable of doing."
Arizona freshman Debbie Larocque, despite wining her first three rounds, also fell to Niggemeyer in the quarterfinals, 7-5, 6-2.
Although the loss came as a disappointment to Larocque, Dancer is pleased with the progress the UA freshman is making.
"She's really been - even as a freshman - a leader for this team in terms of her spirit," Dancer said. "She's really envisioning what we have in mind for UA tennis. I think she's going to be really one of the best players over time that Arizona will have."
Arizona's doubles teams, despite earning a berth in the finals, fell short of victory.
The new combination of Larocque and junior Laresa Marino proved to be successful as they eliminated the No. 2 seed, Christiane Barthel and Diana D Audrey, 8-6.
The duo advanced to the semifinals after defeating Fresno State and faced the No. 4 seed and UA teammates, Gough and junior Sophie Regnier.
"It was weird for sure," Gough said. "Obviously you are always for your players to do well and win, but here it was a case where we wanted to beat them."
The duo of Gough and Regnier came out on top, 8-4, earning a berth in the finals, once again having to face Niggemeyer and Jardim.
Although the UA doubles team found themselves in the championship's doubles finals, according to Gough, it did not have the same feel as a real match.
Due to heavy rain that delayed the finals until 5 p.m. Sunday, the two teams began the finals at a four match draw. After only being able to pick up one match, Gough and Regnier were eventually defeated, 8-5.
"It didn't quite feel the same," Gough said. "We only played four games so it wasn't a real match. It would have been longer and we would have had more time to get into it."
Although Dancer was disappointed with the results from the tournament - prior to the tournament he expressed the desire to win the finals matches in both singles and doubles - had a warm reunion with Epley.
"It was good to see Kevin," Dancer said. "We went out to eat and watched the end of the UA-UCLA football game. When we played against Fresno, he was hesitant and it was difficult for him to coach against our girls."
Despite the disappointing weekend for women's tennis, the squad will have the opportunity to redeem themselves in Irvine, Calif., Nov. 9-13 at the ITA Regionals.
