Saturday, April 16, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 16, 2005) - The East Tennessee State University women's tennis team concluded their regular season with a 7-0 win over the Wofford Terriers on Saturday afternoon at the ETSU tennis courts.  The Bucs improve to 18-6 overall, 8-2 in the SoCon, while the Terriers drop to 7-11, 3-6.

                "I'm glad we won another SoCon match 7-0," stated Head Coach Steve Brooks. "Wofford is a really good team and I didn't expect us to win the match 7-0."

                Action opened with the doubles point being awarded to ETSU. At No. 1, Masha Ilina (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Sylwia Ziolkowska (Warsaw, Poland) defeated Ellen Rogers and Sarah Shelley with an 8-6 final decision. Then Sandie Knight (Adamstown, Australia) and Elena Volobueva (Barcelona, Spain) finished at No. 2 with a 8-4 win over Laura Lynn Williams and Delaine Hare to capture the point for the Bucs. At No. 3, Olya Batsula (Minsk, Belarus) and Gemma Halim (Jakarta, Indonesia) battled against Lauren Prickett and Tara Hartness but fell in the tiebreaker with a final score of 9-8 (7-5).

                In singles action, the Bucs took all six points with wins in straight sets. Knight clinched the game winner for the Bucs with her win at the No. 1 slot over Rogers 6-3, 6-1.

At No. 6, senior and team captain Halim picked up her 60th career singles win during her last home match of her career as a Buccaneer. With the win, she ranks tied for seventh on ETSU's career singles wins top-ten list. Before the day's match, Halim was recognized for her contributions during her career at ETSU.

"It's sad to see her go," stated Brooks. "It's been great to see Gemma grow as a player for the last four years. She is always smiling and that has been great for the team. She will be hard to replace."   

The Bucs will now prepare for the SoCon Tournament, which begins on Thursday, April 21 in Charleston, S.C.  

East Tennessee State 7, Wofford 0      

Doubles

1.  Ilina/Ziolkowska (ETSU) d. Rogers/Shelley (WC) 8-6

2.  Volobueva/Knight (ETSU) d. Williams/Hare (WC) 8-4

3.  Lauren Prickett/Hartness (WC) d. Batsula/Halim (ETSU) 9-8 (7-5)

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles

1. Sandie Knight (ETSU) d. Ellen Rogers (WC) 6-3, 6-1

2. Masha Ilina (ETSU) d. Sarah Shelley (WC) 6-0, 6-0

3. Sylwia Ziolkowska (ETSU) d. Laura Lynn Williams (WC) 6-4, 6-3

4. Olya Batsula (ETSU) d. Delaine Hare (WC) 6-3, 7-5

5. Elena Volobueva  (ETSU) d. Tara Hartness (WC) 6-4, 6-2

6. Gemma Halim (ETSU) d. Adriane Hodges (WC) 6-2, 6-2

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*, 6, 5, 4

* - Clinching point