Women's Tennis: Watkins Leads WVU Over St. John's
February 20, 2004 05:05 PM | General
February 20, 2004
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| Watkins |
MONROEVILLE, Pa. – Senior Jennifer Watkins defeated Hande Gorur, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the final match of the day to give West Virginia a narrow 4-3 victory over previously unbeaten St. John’s on Friday afternoon in Monroeville, Pa.
West Virginia’s (3-1) victory over St. John's (4-1) marks the Mountaineer’s second consecutive win giving them their first winning streak of the season.
“Jennifer Watkins came up huge for us today,” coach Dan Silverstein says. “She really displayed some outstanding character in coming from a set down to win her match. Her hard work and determination ended up being the difference maker for us today.”
Sophomore No. 1 seed Melissa Day defeated St. John’s junior Allison Davidson 6-2, 6-3 to start the scoring for the Mountaineers. Freshman No. 6 seed Kelly Walsh defeated the Red Storm’s Lauren Lorenzetti 6-3, 6-2 to give the Mountaineers three singles victories on the afternoon.
In other singles action, sophomore No. 3 seed Raynie Theis fell to Kristina Bothova 6-0, 6-0 while senior Courtney Howell lost to Lauren Leo 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 4 position. Freshman No. 5 seed Ashley Constantine fell victim to St. John’s junior Jennifer Liantonio 6-2, 7-5.
In doubles play, WVU’s duo of Day/Watkins defeated the Red Storm’s Gorur/Leo, 8-4, while Theis/Walsh toppled Davidson/Lorenzetti 8-6. West Virginia’s final doubles victory came from Constantine/Howell who went on to defeat Bothova/Liantonio 8-6.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the way our team performed today,” Silverstein says exuberantly. “In order to be successful this season we are going to have to find a way to win close matches. Today we were able to win a close match against a solid conference opponent. That bodes extremely well for the confidence of this team.”
Singles
Melissa Day (WVU) d. Allison Davidson, 6-1, 6-0
Jennifer Watkins (WVU) d. Hande Gorur (SJU), 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
Kristina Bothova (SJU) Raynie Theis (WVU) 6-0, 6-0
Lauren Leo (SJU) d. Courtney Howell (WVU) 6-4, 6-2
Jennifer Liantonio (SJU) d. Ashley Constantine (WVU) 6-2, 7-5
Kelly Walsh (WVU) d. Lauren Lorenzetti (SJU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
Day/Watkins (WVU) d. Gorur/Leo (SJU), 8-4
Howell/Constantine (WVU) d. Bothova/Liantonio (SJU), 8-6
Theis/Walsh (WVU) d. Davidson/Lorenzetti (SJU), 8-6
