Herd Tennis Falls to Kentucky 4-0 in NCAA First Round

5/13/2005

Ashley Kroh won her first set over the No. 3 ranked player in the nation Aibika Kalsarieva 6-3. Photo by Matt Riley

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Marshall Thundering Herd tennis team gave the No. 3 ranked Kentucky Wildcats a run for their money Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset as UK went on to a 4-0 win at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center.

“Kentucky is just a little bit better than us,” Marshall head coach John Mercer said. “They are one of the very best teams in the country and are going to go far in the tournament. We gave it our all and came in with the mindset that we could win and I think we proved we could play with them.”

Even though the final score was 4-0, Marshall gave the ‘Cats a scare from the onset. In doubles, Lille Nzudie (Duaola, Cameroon) and Shannon Brown (Overland Park, Kan.) were up 6-3 on court three and on court two, Ashley Kroh (Louisville, Ky.) and partner Jeanne Schwartz (West Palm Beach, Fla.) had the No. 22 ranked team in the nation on the ropes at 7-7 before the Wildcats duo went on to the 9-7 win to clinch the doubles point.

In singles, the Herd still wouldn’t go away as Kroh stepped up to the challenge of playing the No. 3 ranked player in the nation, Aibika Kalsarieva on court one. In a battle of two All-American’s Kroh was on top, winning the first set 6-3, and was even in the second set before the match was called because the Wildcats had clinched the three other points it needed. Kalsarieva has not lost a match all spring and Kroh is on a 19-match win streak.

“We knew they were going to be a tough team and we knew we’d have to fight hard,” Kroh said. “We showed up with the mentality that we could play with them and have a good chance. Everyone fought hard in doubles and singles and we were in it. Other than winning, you can’t ask for much more.”

In other matches, the Herd was even with the Wildcats through most of the first sets. As the scoreboard swapped leaders back and forth on all courts, Marshall could’ve used a few breaks to get momentum going in its favor, but Kentucky’s consistent play prevailed. UK players took the first sets at Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 6 against Marshall’s triumphs in set one on court one and court four where Danielle Hock (Wigan, England) took the advantage over Joelle Schwenk with a 6-4 score. The Herd showed it could compete with the Wildcats, but couldn’t get over the hump, much like earlier in the year when UK downed Marshall 6-1.

“I think it helped a lot that we’ve played them every year,” Hock said. “We knew we could play with them, but we were just unlucky in a few spots that things didn’t go our way.”

No. 69 Marshall, finishes the year 19-8 and No. 3 Kentucky advances to play Wake Forest tomorrow at 3 p.m. in Lexington. Despite the season coming to an end, Mercer said he couldn’t be more proud of the fight the Herd showed.

“We came out and played relaxed and high energy and really went after them,” Mercer said. “They all gave a great effort against a great team that’s very deep. Ashley really played well against a girl who hasn’t lost all spring and Danielle was up in her match, the whole team was really competing well.”

The Thundering Herd made its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament and came up short in its bid for its first win again in 2005.

“Everyone’s disappointed because once again we felt like we could win against a team of this caliber and to be in it and compete like we did and represent Marshall University and the community on a national stage, speaks volumes about this team and is something everyone can be proud of,” Mercer said.

Marshall and Kentucky will meet again during the regular season next year and the Herd will try to make a fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament when it heads into Conference USA. Marshall graduates five seniors this year and will have four returning players from the 2005 squad in 2006.


RESULTS: NCAA FIRST ROUND at LEXINGTON, KY.
Marshall at UK
Doubles-
No. 1 - #7 Kalsarieva/S.Foster def. Good/Hock 8-3
No. 2 - # 22 Coventry/Schwenk def. Kroh/Schwartz 9-7
No. 3 – Nzudie/Brown up 6-3 over E. Foster/Maurer DNF

Singles-
No. 1 – Kroh vs. # 3 Kalsarieva – 6-3, 3-3 DNF
No. 2 - # Coventry vs. Nzudie – 6-3, 4-4 DNF
No. 3 - #64 S. Foster def. Good 7-5, 6-1
No. 4 – Hock vs. Schwenk – 6-4, 1-2 DNF
No. 5 – Maurer def. Schwartz 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 – Petrisko def. Brown 6-3, 6-3