W&M Upset Bid Falls Short at No. 8 California

Sophomores Lauren Sabacinski and Carmen Pop both recorded singles wins against the Golden Bears.

03/05/08 11:00PM

Berkley, Calif. - For the second time in as many days, the No. 26-ranked William and Mary women’s tennis team fought tooth and nail with one of the top teams in the nation only to come up on the short end of the stick, this time falling at No. 8 California, 5-2, on Wednesday afternoon. Sophomores Lauren Sabacinski and Carmen Pop both tallied singles victories, while W&M also dropped tight three-set matches at both the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions in the loss.

The Golden Bears claimed the opening point of the match with doubles victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, but the Tribe duo of senior Megan Moulton-Levy and junior Katarina Zoricic claimed their second straight win over a nationally ranked opponent at the top tandems slot. Moulton-Levy and Zoricic, who are ranked No. 34 nationally, defeated No. 42 Susie Babos and Stephanie Kusano, 8-6, to improved to 19-7 as a team this season.

In singles competition, Sabacinski defeated a nationally ranked foe for the second time this season at the No. 5 slot. After cruising to a 6-2 victory in the opening set, the Plantation, Fla., native garnered the victory when No. 84 Bojana Bobusic retired in the second set. The win bumped her season mark to 21-9 overall and evened the match at one apiece.

The Bears regained the lead with straight-set victories at the No. 1 and No. 4 positions to take a 3-1 advantage, before Pop pulled the Tribe back within one with a three-set victory at the No. 6 spot. She tallied her second come-from-behind victory in as many days, rallying past Daron Moore, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3. The win improved Pop’s season mark to 6-5.

The team outcome came down to a pair of three-set affairs at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Those matches pitted Zoricic, who is ranked No. 102 nationally, against No. 15 and 2006 NCAA Singles Champion Susie Babos at the No. 2 position and junior Klaudyna Kaztelaniec with Cal’s No. 32-ranked Cristina Visico at the No. 3 spot.

Despite winning the first set, 6-4, Kasztelaniec, one day removed from an upset win over the No. 43-ranked player in the country, could not hold off Visico dropping the final two sets, 7-5, 6-3. Visico’s victory at the No. 3 spot clinched the team victory for the Bears. At the No. 2 slot, Zoricic rallied to force a decisive third set by claiming the second set, 7-5, after dropping the first by an identical score. The Tribe All-American could not carry the momentum over to the final set, falling 6-4 to Babos.

The Tribe will wrap up its three-match Spring Break trip to California when it travels to No. 15 Fresno State on Friday, March 7. Start time for the match is slated for 4 p.m. PT.

#8 California 5, #26 William and Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 – #47 Marina Cossou (California) def. #11 Megan Moulton-Levy (W&M) 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 – #15 Susie Babos (California) def. #102 Katarina Zoricic (W&M) 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
No. 3 – #32 Cristina Visico (California) def. Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 4 – #64 Claire Ilcinkas (California) def. #80 Ragini Acharya (W&M) 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 – Lauren Sabacinkski (W&M) def. #84 Bojana Bobusic (California) 6-2, 2-3, retire
No. 6 - Carmen Pop (W&M) def. Daron Moore (California) 3-6, 7-6, 6-3
Finishing Order: 5, 1, 4, 6, 3*, 2

Doubles
No. 1 – #34 Moulton-Levy/Zoriac (W&M) def. #42 Babos/Kusano (California) – 8-6
No. 2 – #46 Cossou/Ilcinkas (California) def. Acharya/Kasztelaniec (W&M) – 8-4
No. 3 – Bobusic/Dillon (California) def. Pop/Sabacinski (W&M) – 8-3
Finishing Order: 3, 2*, 1