Thursday, April 13, 2006

(April 13, 2006) - The Lady Bucs tennis team defeated Gardner-Webb, 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic-Sun conference tournament. The Lady Bucs are now 21-4 on the year and have collected their 13^th sweep of the season.

In No. 1 doubles action, Masha Ilina (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Sylwia Ziolkowska (Warsaw, Poland) defeated Monica Walser and Krystina Sigmon, 8-1, while Tara Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Olya Batsula (Minsk, Belarus) defeated Sara Zirnheld and Amy Beavers, 8-2, in the No. 2 spot. The No. 3 doubles match was called when the ETSU clenched the doubles point.

With her victory in the No. 2 doubles position, freshman Tara Byrne broke the school record of 27 wins.

The Lady Bucs dominated the Bulldogs in singles with wins coming in the No. 1, 3, and 5 positions. Conference tournament play is suspended when one team has clenched the match. In No. 1 singles, Masha Ilina defeated Jenny Gomez, 6-0, 6-2 and Sandie Knight (Adamstown, Australia) collected her 30^th win by defeating Sara Zirnheld, 6-0, 6-0 in No. 3 singles. Freshman Tara Byrne defeated Krystina Sigmon, 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 5 position.

"We are playing really good tennis right now and if we continue to play this well then we should have fun this week, "said head coach Steve Brooks.

ETSU will face host-school Mercer tomorrow at 2 p.m. The Lady Bucs defeated Mercer, 7-0 on March 23 in Johnson City.

ETSU 4, GWU 0

Singles

No. 1- Masha Ilina (ETSU) def. Jenny Gomez (GWU) 6-0, 6-2

No. 2- Olya Batsula (ETSU) vs. Amy Beavers (GWU) DNF

No. 3- Sandie Knight (ETSU) def. Sara Zirnheld (GWU) 6-0, 6-0

No. 4- Elena Volobueva (ETSU) vs. Monica Walser (GWU) DNF

No. 5- Tara Byrne (ETSU) def. Krystina Sigmon (GWU) 6-2, 6-1

No. 6- Sylwia Ziolkowska (ETSU) vs. Tracey Tonsor (GWU) DNF

Doubles

No. 1- Ilina/Ziolkowska (ETSU) def. Walser/Sigmon (GWU) 8-1

No. 2- Batsula/Byrne (ETSU) def. Zirnheld/Beavers (GWU) 8-2