Sunday, March 14, 2004

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Mar. 14, 2004) - The East Tennessee State women's tennis team defeated the Tennessee Tech Athletics in a 5-2 win this afternoon at home. ETSU improves to 10-6 overall, 1-0 in SoCon, while Tennessee Tech drops to 1-6 overall. Head coach Steve Brooks commented, "The girls came out strong and won strong." The Bucs won all three doubles matches to win the doubles point. At the No. 1 postion, Sylwia Ziolkowska (Warsaw, Poland) and Mariya Ilyina (Kyiv, Ukraine) played Tennessee Tech's Marina Tasheva and Alet Boonzaaier beating them 8-4. ETSU's Gemma Halim (Jakarta, Indonesia) and Jessica Irey (Clewiston, Fla.) went 8-5 in the No. 2 slot against Melisa Cansado and Maja Russinova, while Aimee Villavicencio (Lexington, Ky) and Tatiana Arriaran (Cochabamba, Bolivia) won at the No. 3 slot. In singles play, ETSU secured the win with wins from Halim at No. 3 (3-6, 6-4, 10-6), Irey at No. 4 (6-3, 6-2, and Ilyina at No. 5 (6-4, 6-2). Ilyina's win is her 21st win of the year, which places her tied for seventh on the all-time season wins list. Tennessee Tech's two points came from Tasheva at No. 1 and Boonzaaier at No. 2. Up next for ETSU is a Southern Conference road match against Western Carolina on March 21. The match in Cullowhee, N.C. is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. ETSU 5, Tenn. Tech 2 Doubles: 1. Sylwia Ziolkowska/Mariya Ilyina (ETSU) def. Marina Tasheva/Alet Boonzaaier (TT) 8-4 2. Gemma Halim/Jessica Irey (ETSU) def. Melisa Cansado/Maja Russinova (TT) 8-5 3. Aimee Villavicencio/Tatiana Arriaran (ETSU) def. Tenn. Tech defaulted Order of finish: 3, 1, 2 Singles: 1. Marina Tasheva (TT) def. Courtney McInnis (ETSU) 6-2, 6-4 2. Alet Boonzaaier (TT) def. Sylwia Ziolkowska (ETSU) 4-6, 7-5 (8-10) 3. Gemma Halim (ETSU) def. Margot Carter (TT) 3-6, 6-4, 10-6 4. Jessica Irey (ETSU) def. Melisa Cansado (TT) 6-3, 6-2 5. Mariya Ilyina (ETSU) def. Maja Russinova (TT) 6-4, 6-2 6. Tatiana Arriaran (ETSU) def. Tenn. Tech defaulted Order of finish: 6, 5, 4*, 1, 2, 3 * - Clinching Point