PALO ALTO, Calif. ? Junior Kim Coventry battled back from behind for the second straight day but it wasn?t enough as she fell to UCLA?s Riza Zalameda Thursday in three sets 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the second round of the NCAA singles tournament in Stanford, Calif. Coventry ends her season with at 26-21 record while Zalameda advances to face the winner of the match between Texas A&M?s Anna Lubinsky and Stanford?s Amber Liu.
The 49th-ranked Coventry began the match carrying the momentum over from Wednesday?s win over Georgia Tech?s Lyndsay Shosho by dominating last season?s NCAA semifinalist 6-1 in the first set. The Melbourne, Australia, native broke Zalameda on the first serve and never looked back.
In the second set, No. 54 Zalameda showed the form that made her a 2005 All-American by rebounding to win 6-2. With the games tied 2-2, the Los Angeles, Calif., native went on a roll winning the last four games.
The final set started off just as well for Zalameda as she took the first four games. On the brink of elimination, Coventry flashed the form that helped her overtake Shosho in three sets by taking the next four games. Zalameda took the ninth game and had to fend off another Coventry rally in the 10th game to clinch the victory.
?Kim (Coventry) fought very hard today in a tough match against a very good opponent,? head coach Carlos Drada said. ?This match was a tough way to end her singles season especially coming off her comeback performance against Lyndsay Shosho yesterday.
“I know Kim will work extremely hard at improving this summer with the goal of returning to NCAA Championships. We look forward to her coming back and having a tremendous senior season.?
Coventry will now look to regroup as she is set to team with freshman Carolina Escamilla later today in the first round of the doubles tournament. First serve is scheduled at 8:30 p.m. EDT against fourth-seeded Iva Gersic and Maja Kovacek of New Mexico. Fans can check ukathletics.com for live stats and a recap at the conclusion of the match.
Round of 32 NCAA Singles Championships
Taube Tennis Center – Stanford, Calif.
Riza Zalameda (UCLA) def. Kim Coventry (UK) – 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
