Arizona Women’s Tennis: Samantha Czarniak rallies to win Wildcat Invitational

After dropping the first set to New Mexico’s Ludivine Burguiere, the UA senior took the next two to win the title

In the championship match of the Wildcat Invitational, Arizona senior Samantha Czarniak won two out of three sets against New Mexico Lobo Ludivine Burguiere.

Czarniak lost the first set 4-6 to Burguiere, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, and was a game away from losing the second as well. But the Wildcat found her stride at exactly the right moment, coming back to win the match with a scoreline of 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

“Toward the end of the second set, she was able to start executing her game plan a little bit cleaner,” said Arizona assistant coach Andrew Veeder. “Then from there, it just became a physical battle. Sam played smart in the important points and came out on top.”

Set 1 (4-6):

Czarniak started strong, breaking Burguiere early on for a 3-1 lead.

But Burguiere broke right back with an inside-out winner and a moonball forehand that bounced well over Czarniak’s head. The third seed then followed up with a hold to tie the set at 3-3.

A few games later, Czarniak double-faulted and went down 4-5, putting herself in a must-break situation.

In the next game, a desperate Czarniak made four errors and lost the set 4-6.

Sam's teammates watching and cheering her on ❤️ #BearDown http://pic.twitter.com/6SsV68Gm2h

— ArizonaWTennis (@ArizonaWTennis) October 2, 2016

Set 2 (7-5):

In a drastic turn of events, Czarniak caught fire and won the first three games.

But Burguiere battled back, winning five of the next six to take a 5-4 lead and get within a service hold of the title.

The Lobo was unable to convert, though. After three netted groundstrokes and a double fault, the set was even at 5-5.

Cznariak went on to hold (despite a foot fault), and then broke Burguiere’s serve to win the set 7-5 and force a third frame.

Set 3 (6-3):

The Wildcat lost her serve in the first game, getting broken for 0-1.

Burguiere then consolidated her break by sliding an ace out wide for a two-game lead.

But Czarniak turned the set around with great defense, stringing together four consecutive games to go up 4-2.

Burguiere retaliated by breaking Czarniak’s serve to make the score 4-3.

Czarniak, with an overhead smash and a forehand pass down the right sideline, broke Burguiere for 5-3, putting herself a hold away from winning the tournament.

Czarniak then held at love, winning the deciding set 6-3 and becoming the Wildcat Invitational singles champion.

On Tuesday, Arizona senior Lauren Marker will kickoff her campaign at the Riviera Women's All-American Championship.

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