Women’s tennis battles with No. 62 GCU, falls 4-0 – Air Force Academy Athletics

Doubles play was hotly contested, as the opening point of the night fell to line three after splitting decisions on courts one and two. Court two duo Alexis Odom/Nadia Kojonroj battled out to a 4-0 lead over GCU’s Valeriia Krokhotina/Valentina Del Marco. The Lopes’ pair won two of the last three games to make it 5-2, but could not bridge the gap, as Odom/Kojonroj improved to 4-4 as a duo. Flodin/Van Houweling on court one, down by as much as 5-2 against 8-2 Natasha Puehse/Santa Strombacha, came back to trail by 5-4 but fell in the tying game to go down 6-4.

In singles on lines three and four, Odom and Giovanna Sanchirico went down in straight. On court one, sophomore Arianna Van Houweling forced a third set after falling in the first and working her way back from a 3-1 deficit in the second to win, 6-4, in the second set against a 10-0 Puehse, before falling 6-0 in the third. Kojonroj, after narrowly falling 6-4 in her opening set against Strombacha (8-0), was locked into a 4-4 set when GCU clinched the 4-0 win and the match was called.

Up Next:
The opening weekend of Mountain West play begins for Air Force women’s tennis on March 15, as the Falcons host Colorado State at 11 a.m. in the Cadet Gym.
 
DOUBLES COMPETITION:
1. Natasha Puehse/Santa Strombacha (GCU) def. Arianna Van Houweling/Isabella Flodin (USAFA), 6-4
2. Alexis Odom/Nadia Kojonroj (USAFA) def. Valeriia Korokhotina/Valentina Del Marco (GCU), 6-2
3. Iva Sepa/Elizaveta Morozova (GCU) def. Giovanna Sanchirico/Joselyn Limbago (USAFA), 6-4

Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
 
SINGLES COMPETITION:
1. Natasha Puehse (GCU) def. Arianna Van Houweling (USAFA), 6-1, 4-6, 6-0
2. Santa Strombacha (GCU) vs. Nadia Kojonroj (USAFA), 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
3. Elizaveta Morozova (GCU) def. Alexis Odom (USAFA), 7-5, 6-2
4. Iva Sepa (GCU) def. Giovanna Sanchirico (USAFA), 6-0, 6-1
5. Valeriia Korokhotina (GCU) vs. Joselyn Limbago (USAFA), 6-1, 2-1, unfinished
6. Joselyn Limbago (USAFA) vs. Dania Deafi (GCU), 0-0, unfinished

Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2