University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 9
Minneapolis, MN
2:30 PM
University of Minnesota
4
vs
1
Iowa State University
Players Mentioned
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
Photo by: Craig Lassig
Gophers Complete Saturday Sweep
3/9/2019 6:20:00 PM | Tennis
Minnesota downed the Iowa State Cyclones 4-1 to move to a 6-0 home record on the year
The University of Minnesota Women's Tennis team completed the Saturday sweep with a 4-1 win over Iowa State.
Cammy Frei earned the clincher for Minnesota with her grind-it-out win in No. 4 singles, winning 5-7, 6-3, 7-6, with an impressive 7-0 breaker in the third set.
"I wasn't going to let us lose the match at home," Frei said. "Dropping the first set is always hard, but it was a close set, so I knew I had a chance. In terms of the breaker, I didn't want to give her any points without making her work for it, so I focused on making sure I wa splaying high-percentage tennis and going for big targets. If she was going to beat me, she was going to have to hit a big shot."
DOUBLES
Minnesota had three close matches in doubles, but ended up taking the first two to clinch the doubles point. Cammy Frei and Caitlyn Merzbacher took No. 1 doubles 6-4, while Tina Kreinis and Tiffany Huber took No. 2 doubles 6-4 as well. Bita Mancera and River Hart were up 6-5 upon clinch of the doubles point.
SINGLES
Caitlyn Merzbacher led the way for Minnesota with a clean 6-1, 6-1 win in No. 6 singles, while Bita Mancera won 6-4, 7-5 in No. 3 singles. Tina Kreinis then fell to Maty Cancini in No. 1 singles 7-5, 7-5 before Cammy Frei earned the clincher.
Tiffany Huber was down 1-6, 7-5, 5-4 upon clinch in No. 2 singles, while Juliet Zhang was up 6-3, 3-6, 4-3 in No. 5 singles.
THE SPIN
Minnesota got back on track with their Saturday sweep, earning two back-to-back wins after a five game losing streak and a cancelled match. Now above .500, Minnesota has the spark they need to continue Big Ten play with duals against Rutgers and Maryland on the horizon.
The Gophers are also undefeated (7-0) at home with their last win, building on their 12-3 home mark from last season at Baseline Tennis Center.
"As Catrina always says, this is our house, we defend our house," Frei said. "We all played well today, it was our second match of the day and we showed a lot of grit."
UP NEXT
Minnesota will hit the road over Spring Break to face conference opponents Rutgers on March 15 and Maryland on March 17.
Minnesota 4, Iowa State 1
Doubles
Frei/Merzbacher (MINN) def. Cancini/Bonadonna (ISU) 6-4
Huber/Kreinis (MINN) def. Repina/Espindola (ISU) 6-4
Mancera/Hart (MINN) vs. Grib/Timakova (ISU) 6-5, unfinished
Singles
Cancini (ISU) def. Kreinis (MINN) 7-5, 7-5
Huber (MINN) vs. Espindola (ISU) 6-0, 5-7, 4-5, unfinished
Mancera (MINN) def. Grib (ISU) 6-4, 7-5
Frei (MINN) def. Repina (ISU) 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0)
Zhang (MINN) vs. Bonadonna (ISU) 6-3, 3-6, 4-3, unfinished
Merzbacher (MINN) def. Timakova (ISU) 6-1, 6-1
Cammy Frei earned the clincher for Minnesota with her grind-it-out win in No. 4 singles, winning 5-7, 6-3, 7-6, with an impressive 7-0 breaker in the third set.
"I wasn't going to let us lose the match at home," Frei said. "Dropping the first set is always hard, but it was a close set, so I knew I had a chance. In terms of the breaker, I didn't want to give her any points without making her work for it, so I focused on making sure I wa splaying high-percentage tennis and going for big targets. If she was going to beat me, she was going to have to hit a big shot."
DOUBLES
Minnesota had three close matches in doubles, but ended up taking the first two to clinch the doubles point. Cammy Frei and Caitlyn Merzbacher took No. 1 doubles 6-4, while Tina Kreinis and Tiffany Huber took No. 2 doubles 6-4 as well. Bita Mancera and River Hart were up 6-5 upon clinch of the doubles point.
SINGLES
Caitlyn Merzbacher led the way for Minnesota with a clean 6-1, 6-1 win in No. 6 singles, while Bita Mancera won 6-4, 7-5 in No. 3 singles. Tina Kreinis then fell to Maty Cancini in No. 1 singles 7-5, 7-5 before Cammy Frei earned the clincher.
Tiffany Huber was down 1-6, 7-5, 5-4 upon clinch in No. 2 singles, while Juliet Zhang was up 6-3, 3-6, 4-3 in No. 5 singles.
THE SPIN
Minnesota got back on track with their Saturday sweep, earning two back-to-back wins after a five game losing streak and a cancelled match. Now above .500, Minnesota has the spark they need to continue Big Ten play with duals against Rutgers and Maryland on the horizon.
The Gophers are also undefeated (7-0) at home with their last win, building on their 12-3 home mark from last season at Baseline Tennis Center.
"As Catrina always says, this is our house, we defend our house," Frei said. "We all played well today, it was our second match of the day and we showed a lot of grit."
Head Coach Catrina Thompson on the doubleheader sweep, undefeated home record and Cammy Frei's impressive 7-0 third set breaker to clinch for the #Gophers 〽️🎾 pic.twitter.com/RFiQUjfymr
— Minnesota Women's Tennis (@GopherWTennis) March 9, 2019
UP NEXT
Minnesota will hit the road over Spring Break to face conference opponents Rutgers on March 15 and Maryland on March 17.
Minnesota 4, Iowa State 1
Doubles
Frei/Merzbacher (MINN) def. Cancini/Bonadonna (ISU) 6-4
Huber/Kreinis (MINN) def. Repina/Espindola (ISU) 6-4
Mancera/Hart (MINN) vs. Grib/Timakova (ISU) 6-5, unfinished
Singles
Cancini (ISU) def. Kreinis (MINN) 7-5, 7-5
Huber (MINN) vs. Espindola (ISU) 6-0, 5-7, 4-5, unfinished
Mancera (MINN) def. Grib (ISU) 6-4, 7-5
Frei (MINN) def. Repina (ISU) 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0)
Zhang (MINN) vs. Bonadonna (ISU) 6-3, 3-6, 4-3, unfinished
Merzbacher (MINN) def. Timakova (ISU) 6-1, 6-1
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