May 11, 2002

AUSTIN, Texas - The 31st-ranked TCU women's tennis team fell to ninth-ranked Texas by a score of 4-2 on Saturday afternoon in the finals of the NCAA Regional Championship hosted by Texas. The Frogs finish the season with a 21-5 mark, while Texas advances to 23-5.

The Frogs captured the doubles point behind strong play from their Nos. 2 and 3 duos. Saber Pierce and Leoni Weirich defeated Kaysie Smashey and Lindsay Blau 8-6 at two doubles, while Katrin Gaber and Karla Mancinas picked up the 8-5 win at No. 3 over Joanne Masongsong and Rebekah Forney. However, for only the second time this season, the Frogs did not win the match when winning the doubles point.

Senior Leoni Weirich earned the only singles win of the day for the Frogs as she defeated Lindsay Blau in straight sets 7-6, 6-2. Senior Katrin Gaber's match against 83rd-ranked Kaysie Smashey went to three sets before Smashey took the win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to give the Longhorns the victory. Both senior Frogs captured at least one win as they played their last matches for TCU.

"The better team won," said head coach Roland Ingram. "We cannot play any better than we played today. We have no excuses other than the fact that they were just a little better than us today. I thought that we really had a chance and then Texas came alive."

Roland Ingram ends his 19-year TCU career with a 328-155 win-loss mark, good for a .679 winning percentage. He was named conference coach of the year five times in three conferences and earned ITA Southwest Region Coach of the Year honors in 2001. Under his guidance, four Horned Frog women's tennis teams earned conference championships. A national search is underway to find his successor.

Winners from all 16 regionals will play in the NCAA Championships May 16-19 hosted by Stanford University. Singles and doubles championships will run May 20-25 at Stanford.

#9 Texas 4, #31 TCU 2
Records: #31 TCU 21-5; #9 Texas 23-5
Singles
1. #25 Vladka Uhlirova (UT) def. #116 Paty Aburto (TCU) 6-1, 7-6 (2)
2. #83 Kaysie Smashey (UT) def. Katrin Gaber (TCU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Joanne Masongsong (UT) def. Saber Pierce (TCU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Rosa Perez (TCU) vs. Rebekah Forney (UT) - DNF
5. Leoni Weirich (TCU) def. Lindsay Blau (UT) 7-6 (6), 6-2
6. Michelle Krinke (UT) def. Karla Mancinas (TCU) 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
1. #29 Paty Aburto/Rosa Perez (TCU) vs. #30 Vladka Uhlirova/Ziva Grasic (UT) - DNF
2. Leoni Weirich/Saber Pierce (TCU) def. Kaysie Smashey/Lindsay Blau (UT) 8-6
3. Katrin Gaber/Karla Mancinas (TCU) def. Joanne Masongsong/Rebekah Forney (UT) 8-5