WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (January 27, 2007) - The ETSU women's tennis team continued their play against ranked opponents today falling to No. 26 William and Mary 7-0.

The Tribe came out strong in doubles taking all three matches and the early lead 1-0. Whitney Trotter (Guadalajara, Mexico) and Elena Volobueva (Barcelona, Spain) lost to Ragini Acharya and Magdalena Bresson 8-0 in the No. 3 position, while Yevgeniya Stupak (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Masha Ilina (Kyiv Ukraine) lost to the No. 1 doubles team in the country, Megan Moulten-Levy and Katarina Zoricic 8-1. Tara Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Olya Batsula (Minsk, Belarus) battled in the No. 2 position before falling to Klaudyna Kasztelaniec and Barbara Zidek 8-4.

The Lady Bucs also faced ranked opponents in singles action. Yevgeniya Stupak fell to #5 Megan Moulten-Levy 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 1 position, while Vita Moskaliova (Minsk, Belarus) was defeated by Lauren Sabacinski 6-0, 6-1 in the sixth position. Securing the win for the Tribe, Ragini Acharya defeated sophomore Tara Byrne in the No. 4 position.

Playing No. 3 for the ETSU, Masha Ilina stretched her opponent to a third set, which was decided by a 10-point tiebreaker. She fell to #59 Klaudyna Kasztelaniec 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (3). Also splitting sets was junior Elena Volobueva who fell to Magdalena Bresson 6-2, 0-6, 1-0 (4) in the No. 5 position. Olya Batsula took on #68 Katarina Zoricic in the No. 2 position and was defeated in a close match 6-2, 6-3.

"We are playing really good, we are beat up a little bit because we have played so many tough opponents, but this will be good for us in the long run," said head coach Steve Brooks. " We have better execution now and a better idea of what to do to reach the next level. We split sets in two matches, Olya was battling and the sets were closer than the score indicated. Overall everyone is battling and we are doing the right things, we have some time off now before we leave for our next trip."

The Lady Bucs will travel to Princeton N.J. to play Princeton University on February 9, with a match the following day against the University of Pennsylvania. They currently stand at 2-4 on the season.

ETSU 0, William and Mary 7

Doubles

No. 1- Moulton-Levy/Zoricic (W&M) def. Stupak/Ilina (ETSU) 8-1

No. 2- Kasztelaniec/Zidek (W&M) def. Batsula/Byrne (ETSU) 8-4

No. 3- Acharya/Bresson (W&M) def. Volobueva/Trotter (ETSU) 8-0

Finishing Order 3, 1, 2

Singles

No. 1- Megan Moulton-Levy (W&M) def. Yevgeniya Stupak (ETSU) 6-0, 6-1

No. 2- Katarina Zoricic (W&M) def. Olya Batsula (ETSU) 6-2, 6-3

No. 3- Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) def. Masha Ilina (ETSU) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (3)

No. 4- Ragini Acharya (W&M) def. Tara Byrne (ETSU) 6-3, 6-1

No. 5- Magdalena Bresson (W&M) def. Elena Volobueva (ETSU) 6-2, 0-6, 1-0 (4)

No. 6- Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) def. Vita Moskaliova (ETSU) 6-0, 6-1

Finishing Order 1, 6, 4, 3, 2, 5