Wildcats almost perfect in drubbing of Washington

Leigh-Anne Brown Arizona Daily Wildcat Monique Allegre slams the ball into Washington's court during yesterday's doubles match. The Wildcats won 9-1.

And they succeeded with a 9-1 burst of sunshine amidst a blistering haze on the tennis courts.

With the win, Arizona's women's tennis team improved its overall record to 7-6 with its convincing win against No. 56 Washington at the Robson Tennis Center yesterday afternoon.

"We just came out playing tough and with a strong fire today," assistant coach Courtland Gettel said.

No. 15 Arizona swung to a 5-1 singles lead behind stellar performances by seniors Betsy Miringoff and Vicky Maes and junior Monique Allegre.

"Monique is such a hard worker and is playing the best tennis I've ever seen her play the whole year," UA head coach Stephanie London said. "But, because she's been playing in the No. 3 spot, she's had some tough luck against some difficult opponents."

But yesterday Allegre scorched Erica Stoloff 6-3, 7-6 (3) and paired with Miringoff in an 8-6 doubles win.

"I wrote down some goals before the match, thought about them during the match, and was able to achieve all of them," Allegre said

Freshmen Vanessa Abel and Michelle Gough thrilled the home faithful with solo victories and became tag team partners in a wire-stretching 9-7 comeback doubles win. The top Wildcat tandem of Maes and freshman Joanna Buczkowska served up an 8-5 win over the Huskies as the shadows fell onto the hard court.

Buczkowska was the lone singles loss of the day as she dropped a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 decision to Zeta Wagner.

After producing some disappointing results against No. 24 Southern Cal and No. 13 UCLA over spring break, the Wildcats know they must manufacture Ws in the last third of the season before regionals begin.

"I'm not displeased with the recent results, but we're always looking to improve in what we do as a team," Gettel said.

The women continue a three-game homestand today at 2 p.m. against the No. 73 Ducks from Oregon.

The men's team has a 1:30 p.m. date with New Mexico State at the Tucson Country Club today.