KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (May 9, 2009) - In its second NCAA Tournament match in school history the ETSU women's tennis team could not overcome a quick start by No. 10-ranked Tennessee, falling to the Lady Vols 4-0, Saturday inside the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center in Knoxville.

As play opened Tennessee took control early, storming out of the gate in doubles play. After taking quick 7-1 leads both at the No. 3 and No. 2 positions the Lady Vols cruised to the point taking both matches. Unfortunately, for the Lady Bucs ETSU best performance in doubles play came at as junior Yevgenyia Stupak (Kyiv, Ukraine) and freshman Paula Jaime (Madrid, Spain) was locked up in a tight battle at No. 1 as the Lady Vols took the 1-0 lead.    

As singles play opened Tennessee maintained its momentum at No. 3 as freshman Karina Kedzo (Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela) struggled out of the gate against Samantha Orlin, dropping the first set 6-1. As set two opened the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman and Second-Team member picked play splitting the first two games 1-1. After both Orlin and Kedzo serve in game three and four the Lady Vol senior took four more games taking a commanding 5-2 lead. Kedzo did battle back in the final two games, before Orlin closed out the frame with a 6-3 second set win.

With Tennessee up two, the Lady Vols added to their lead as No. 2 singles came to a close. Senior Tara Byrne (Johnson City) dropped a tough first set to NCAA Singles qualifier Natalie Pluskota  6-4, before the Lady Vol newcomer closed out the match with a strong 6-1, performance at set two, giving Tennessee a 3-0 advantage.

With their back against the wall the Lady Bucs would not quit as both Jaime and Stupak battled at No. 1 and No. 4 singles. After a number of close points the Lady Vols would put the match away as No. 34 Caitlin Whoriskey dropped the reiging Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year with identical 6-3 straight set wins.

Unfortunately for ETSU, Paula Jaime was just starting to make her comeback as the Lady Vols closed out the contest. After falling 6-3, in the opening set, the Lady Buc newcomer was up 5-3 in the second when the match went final.

Below are final results of today's match. A link, featuring both coaches' quotes from the tournament, are available through the NCAA Tournament central webpage attached above.