BOX SCORE

KENTFIELD, Calif. — In her final tune-up match for the Pacific West Conference Women's Tennis Championships, Gaby Verspieren of Dominican University of California netted one of the Lady Penguins' biggest upsets of the season and, with her doubles partner Irina Morozova, nearly pulled off another on Wednesday.

Verspieren, a junior, defeated the 36th ranked NCAA Division II player in the country, Grand Canyon's Katharina Mittag, in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 in their No. 2 singles match at College of Marin, evening her record at 6-6.  Mittag has a 5-1 record this season playing No. 1 singles with the Antelopes.

“Gaby played her best match of the year,” said Head Coach Greg Kennett. “She was great.”

The Lady Penguins (2-10) ultimately dropped a 7-1 decision to the 13th ranked Antelopes (13-7) in the team dual, but Verspieren left with a sweeter feeling that the bitter one she incurred earlier in the day. She and Morozova were leading the nation's 21st ranked doubles team in NCAA Div.  II – Mittag and Frederique Van De Velde  -- 5-2  and were  one point from taking a 7-4 lead before Grand Canyon's top tandem rallied for an 8-6 win.

“It would have been big and they know it,” Kennett said. “It's unfortunate.”

After a Morozova put-away at the net at deuce, Verspieren was serving for game point leading 6-4 in the match. But Mittag and Van De Velde won the next three points to win that game then won 12 of the final 14 points to take the set.

In a battle of left-handed hitters, Morozova bowed to 32nd ranked Priscilla Annoual at No. 1 singles.  Dominican senior Jamie Fernandez also played well at No. 4 singles, winning four games against Van De Velde.

On Thursday, Dominican is host for the three-day PacWest Championships at the Marin Tennis Club in San Rafael.  The Lady Penguins' quarterfinal opponent on Thursday is undefeated BYU-Hawaii (22-0), nine-time national champion and currently the No. 1 ranked Intercollegiate Tennis Association team in the nation in NCAA Div. II.