By
Lindsey Manroel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Head coach overwhelmed by its success
Sunny skies and a home-court advantage could not outweigh the pressure that filled Arizona's Robson Tennis Center yesterday afternoon.
In an opportunity for the Wildcats to compete against professionals at the Cigna Healthcare $50,000 Challenger - the first professional women's tournament held on Wildcat courts - UA's top singles player and doubles team were both eliminated in the first round of play.
Up against a tough freshman from Duke University, UA senior Michelle Gough could not keep pace with the strength and confidence of the No. 257 ranked player in the world, Ansley Cargill.
From the time that Cargill won the opening coin toss, a decision in which Gough would return first, seemed to place the momentum in Cargill's hands.
"She made a lot of errors and when you make errors, you dig your self into a hole," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Michelle couldn't get out of that hole."
After taking the first two games of the first set, Cargill forced Gough to make careless errors, as she took the first set, 6-3.
"I wasn't executing my shots," Gough said. "They weren't what they should be or what they could be. I just wasn't playing my own game."
Despite being down a set, Gough came back to win her serve and took the first game of the second set. However, Ansley - the singles champion at the ITA All-American Tournament this past October - recognized Gough's weakness and easily cruised to victory, taking the second set, 6-1.
"She had a good low slice, but, at times, she missed a lot of balls when she had pressure," Ansley said. "She just needs to be more consistent."
Perhaps a lack of consistency, but more importantly, Dancer and Gough both attributed her loss to the nerves that took over Gough, in her first appearance at a professional event.
"I was kind of freaked out just by the fact that I'm playing in such a big tournament," Gough said. "Obviously I'm incredibly disappointed, but I'm not going to beat myself up since it was about circumstance."
Upset over her performance, a disappointed Gough and teammate, junior Lindsay Blau took the court together to face Paloma Collantes and Julie Shiflet from the United States.
Although prior to the match, Gough felt more at ease alongside friend and teammate Blau, the two could not find their rhythm together.
"It was fun, but our timing was off," Blau said. "We weren't clicking, and you didn't see our best tennis."
The No. 3, UA doubles team was eliminated, 8-6.
Despite being disappointed in a match they felt should have been in their favor, Gough and Blau, along with the opposing team, seemed to recognize the comfort level that UA's double team exhibits.
"They looked very familiar with one another and are a very good college doubles team," Collantes said.
Despite his team's performance, Dancer, who took on the role of tournament director, has been overwhelmed by the response the tournament has received.
"This event has been incredibly successful," Dancer said. "I think the players have been happy and fans have been happy. It's been a great tournament and a great event for Tucson."
"Tennis is a great sport, and it gives a lot of lessons. We're just looking forward to getting more people out here."
The tournament continues with the singles play serving off this morning at 9 am. The No. 1 tournament seed, Alina Jidkova of Russia, will take the court, no earlier than noon today.
