Friday, April 14, 2006

MACON, Ga. (April 14, 2006) - The top-seeded ETSU women's tennis team defeated fourth seeded Mercer in the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament at the John Drew Smith Tennis Center Friday afternoon to advance to the finals where they will take on either Stetson or Campbell. The Lady Bucs (22-4 overall) pick up their fifth straight win and 14^th sweep of the season.

The Lady Bucs came out swinging as they took the doubles point in the No. 2 and 3 positions. In the No. 2 position, Tara Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Olya Batsula (Minsk, Belarus) defeated Teresina Pazsoldan and Kelly Blount, 8-3 while Elena Volobueva (Barcelona, Spain) and Sandie Knight (Adamstown, Australia) defeated Irys Citko and Cali Sachs, 8-2.

The Lady Bucs again dominated the Bears with victories in the No. 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 positions. Play was suspended as the No. 1, 5, and 6 ended simultaneously and with Batsula's match against Patricia Assumpcao was called at match-point when they suspended play. Freshman Tara Byrne defeated Rachael Kerley in the No. 4 position, 6-1, 6-1 and Sandie Knight defeated Lauriane Auvergne, 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 3 slot to give the Lady Bucs a 3-0 lead. In No. 1 singles, Masha Ilina defeated Teresina Pazsoldan, 6-2, 6-2, Sylwia Ziolkowska (Warsaw, Poland) defeated Kelly Blount, 6-1, 6-3 in the No. 5 position, and Vita Moskaliova (Minsk, Belarus) defeated Karen Bellman, 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 6 position to complete the sweep.

"We came in today and played well, we just try to keep playing the same way. We don't want to peak, we just want to play the same way every match. We're hoping to come out tomorrow and just play the match the same way and just treat it as just another match, "said head coach Steve Brooks.

ETSU will face either Stetson or Campbell in tomorrow's championship match. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

ETSU 6, MU 0

Singles

No. 1- Masha Ilina (ETSU) def. Teresina Pazsoldan (MU) 6-2, 6-2

No. 2- Olya Batsula (ETSU) vs. Patricia Assumpcao (MU) DNF

No. 3- Sandie Knight (ETSU) def. Lauriane Auvergne (MU) 6-0, 6-0

No. 4- Tara Byrne (ETSU) def. Rachael Kerley (MU) 6-1, 6-1

No. 5- Sylwia Ziolkowska (ETSU) def. Kelly Blount (MU) 6-1, 6-3

No. 6- Vita Moskaliova (ETSU) def. Karen Bellman (MU) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles

No. 1- Ilina/Ziolkowska (ETSU) vs. Auvergne/Kerley (MU) DNF

No. 2- Batsula/Byrne (ETSU) def. Pazsoldan/Blount (MU) 8-3

No. 3- Volobueva/Knight (ETSU) def. Citko/Sachs (MU) 8-2