Saturday, March 18, 2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 18, 2006) - The ETSU women's tennis team swept conference foes, Lipscomb and Belmont, 7-0 today. The Lady Bucs are now 13-3 on the year while Belmont falls to 4-6 and Lipscomb falls to 5-11.

In the first match of the day against Lipscomb, Olya Batsula (Minsk, Belarus) and Tara Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) defeated Emily and Olivia Ellis, 8-7 (7-5) in No. 1 doubles. In the No. 2 positions Sylwia Ziolkowska (Warsaw, Poland) and Masha Ilina (Kyiv, Ukraine) defeated Jamie Aid and Erin Moakler, 8-2 to clinch the doubles point. Elena Volobueva (Barcelona, Spain) and Sandie Knight (Adamstown, Australia) defeated Mary Beth Muncher and Casey Hall, 8-2 in the No. 3 doubles position.

In singles action, junior Masha Ilina defeated Erin Moakler, 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 1 position, while Elena Volobueva defeated Emily Ellis, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 2 position. In No. 3 singles Sandie Knight defeated Olivia Ellis, 6-0, 6-1. Freshman Tara Byrne defeated Caitlin Khouri, 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 4 slot, and in the No. 5 position senior Sylwia Ziolkowska defeated Casey Hall, 6-2, 6-1, while Vita Moskaliova (Minsk, Belarus) defeated Mary Beth Muncher, 6-2, 6-4.

In match two against Belmont, the Lady Bucs dominated the Bruins, winning all three doubles sets. Sylwia Ziolkowska and Masha Ilina defeated Katie Rhodes and April Bradley, 8-5 in the No. 1 position while Olya Batsula and Tara Byrne defeated Linda Johansson and Tatiana Pozo, 8-4 in the No. 2 slot. In the No. 3 position Sandie Knight and Elena Volobueva won by default.

In singles play, the Lady Bucs again dominated winning all six sets in straight sets. In No. 1 singles, Masha Ilina defeated Linda Johansson, 6-4, 6-0, while Olya Batsula defeated Tatiana Pozo, 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 2 position. In No. 3 singles Elena Volobueva defeated April Bradley, 6-0, 6-1. Senior Sandie Knight defeated Katie Rhodes, 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 4 slot, while Tara Byrne defeated Christina Griffith, 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 5 position. In No. 6 singles, Slywia Ziolkowska won by default.

"I'm very proud of the way the girls played today. They all played with a lot of professionalism and a lot of energy," said ETSU head coach Steve Brooks. "They played like the solid team they've been trying to be the entire year. Today was a very good representation of who they are and the level that they are. I'm just real proud of the way we played today and if we keep fighting like that we're going to keep having a good season."

The Lady Bucs return home for their next match against Gardner-Webb on Friday, March 24 at 2:30 p.m.

ETSU 7, LU 0

Singles

No. 1- Masha Ilina (ETSU) def. Erin Moakler (LU) 6-1, 6-3

No. 2- Elena Volobueva (ETSU) def. Emily Ellis (LU) 6-3, 6-3

No. 3- Sandie Knight (ETSU) def. Olivia Ellis (LU) 6-0, 6-1

No. 4- Tara Byrne (ETSU) def. Caitlin Khouri (LU) 6-0, 6-1

No. 5- Sylwia Ziolkowska (ETSU) def. Casey Hall (LU) 6-2, 6-1

No. 6- Vita Moskaliova (ETSU) def. Mary Beth Muncher (LU) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles

No. 1- Batsula Byrne (ETSU) def. Ellis/Ellis (LU) 8-7 (7-5)

No. 2- Ziolkowska/Ilina (ETSU) def. Aid/Moakler (LU) 8-2

No. 3- Volobueva/Knight (ETSU) def. Muncher/Hall (LU) 8-2

ETSU 7, BU 0

Singles

No. 1- Masha Ilina (ETSU) def. Linda Johansson (BU) 6-4, 6-0

No. 2- Olya Batsula (ETSU) def. Tatiana Pozo (BU) 6-0, 6-2

No. 3- Elena Volobueva (ETSU) def. April Bradley (BU) 6-0, 6-1

No. 4- Sandie Knight (ETSU) def. Katie Rhodes (BU) 6-1, 6-0

No. 5- Tara Byrne (ETSU) def. Christina Griffith (BU) 6-0, 6-1

No. 6- Sylwia Ziolkowska (ETSU) by default

Doubles

No. 1- Ziolkowska/Ilina (ETSU) def. Rhodes/Bradley (BU) 8-5

No. 2- Batsula/Byrne (ETSU) def. Johansson/Pozo (BU) 8-4

No. 3- Volobueva/Knight (ETSU) by default