Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 16:31 Special to HNN Provided by Herd Zone

HOUSTON – For the first time since 2010, No. 2 seed (no. 60 nationally) Marshall tennis advances to the finals of the 2015 Conference USA Tournament. With impressive doubles play and straight-set singles wins by a trio of sophomores, the Herd gained revenge over no. 3 seed (no. 66 nationally) Old Dominion 4-3 in the semifinals Saturday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center at Rice.

Marshall will take on No. 1 seed and host-team (no. 30 nationally) Rice Sunday at 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET). Marshall enters the finals with a 16-9 record, while the Owls post results of 15-8.

Dynamic doubles started the day off on a positive note for the Herd. Sophomore duo Derya Turhan (Bad Salzuflen, Germany) and Anna Pomyatinskaya (Sochi, Russia) secured an 8-3 win on court 1. Freshman Maddie Silver (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and sophomore Rachael Morales (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) then solidified the doubles point on court 3 with an 8-5 win.

Although senior Kai Broomfield (Toronto, Canada) and freshman Marija Bogicevic (Belgrade, Serbia) took an 8-5 loss on court 2, the Herd lead 1-0 over the Monarchs heading into singles play.

Morales was first to the punch, capturing a swift 6-0, 6-1 win on court 6.

ODU took the next three points over Broomfield (6-3, 6-1) , Silver (6-3, 6-2) and Bogicevic (6-2, 6-0), putting the Monarchs up 3-2.

With two matches remaining, Pomyatinskaya recorded the equalizer on court 2 with a straight-set victory (6-3, 6-3) to even the match at 3-3.

With the possible victory sitting on the shoulders of Turhan, she clinched the match with a straight set win over nationally ranked No. 113 Borislava Botusharova (6-4, 6-1).

The win comes two weeks after Old Dominion swept the Herd 7-0 in a dual match.

Live video and stats can be found on riceowls.com.

Quotes by head coach John Mercer
"I'm very proud of the way the girls came out and competed today. As we saw just a few weeks ago when we faced ODU in the regular season, they are a tough team. We made a great adjustment the second go around."

"Great doubles play really set the tone for the day. We were fired up from the beginning and we were able to carry the momentum into singles play."

"We're eager for a shot at a conference title. I'm looking forward to a great day tomorrow."

COMPLETE MATCH RESULTS

Tennis Match Results

Old Dominion vs Marshall

4/18/2015 at Houston, Texas

(George R. Brown Tennis Center)

#60 Marshall 4, #66 Old Dominion 3

Singles competition

1. Derya Turhan (MAR) def. Nikol Hristova (ODU) 6-4, 6-1

2. Anna Pomyatinskaya (MAR) def. Ingrid Vojcinakova (ODU) 6-3, 6-3

3. Marijana Novakovic (ODU) def. Maddie Silver (MAR) 6-3, 6-2

4. Adriana Rajkovic (ODU) def. Kai Broomfield (MAR) 6-3, 6-1

5. Ivana Vukovic (ODU) def. Marija Bogicevic (MAR) 6-2, 6-0

6. Rachael Morales (MAR) def. Faith Atiso (ODU) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Derya Turhan/Anna Pomyatinskaya (MAR) def. Borislava Botusharov/Adriana Rajkovic (ODU) 8-3

2. Nikol Hristova/Marijana Novakovic (ODU) def. Marija Bogicevic/Kai Broomfield (MAR) 8-5

3. Rachael Morales/Maddie Silver (MAR) def. Ingrid Vojcinakova/Ivana Vukovic (ODU) 8-5

Match Notes:

Old Dominion 15-5; National ranking #66

Marshall 16-7; National ranking #60

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,4,3,2,5,1)

C-USA Women's Tennis Semifinals

T-3:30