Tennis: WVU Comes up Short Against Dukes
April 03, 2008 10:25 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
April 3, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University tennis team lost a close match to Duquesne, 4-3, on Thursday, April 3, at the Lakeview Fitness Club in Gastonia, Pa.
The Mountaineers (11-6, 2-1 BIG EAST) were doomed by the doubles point as they were swept in all three matches after splitting the six singles matches.
Senior Stacey Percival earned her best victory of the season against one of the Atlantic 10’s top singles performers in freshman Zena Williams. Percival defeated the five-time rookie of the week to improve to 5-2 in her last seven singles matches.
Monica Lyskawa performed well for the Mountaineers as she won her match at No. 2 singles in three sets. Having been down in the first set, the senior revitalized her game and earned the comeback victory in one of her longest matches of the season.
“Monica’s opponent was on fire in the first set,” said WVU Head Coach Marc Walters. “But she came back after her first set and really turned things around in a matter of three hours.”
Senior leadership was provided again by Natalia Prinz, as she won at No. 3 singles. Prinz continues to excel in her final season and improves to 12-5 in singles competition in what has been her best year yet.
The contest featured two streaking teams, as the Mountaineers won six of its last seven matches entering today while the Dukes (10-4, 4-1 A-10) had won its last three matches.
Despite the loss, Walters was happy with his team’s performance as they put forth a solid effort against a quality opponent.
“We played a much better match today,” said Walters. “It was nice to see us bounce back. We had lost to them last year but played much better against them this season because we got great effort from our seniors.”
“In doubles we were competitive. We just didn’t have enough bullets in the chamber to win.”
The Mountaineers play Presbyterian in their final home match of the season on Saturday, April 5. The match is slated to be held at the tennis courts outside the Coliseum at 11 a.m., but will be played at the Ridgeview Racquet Club at 3 p.m. if inclement weather occurs.
WVU’s final home match is also senior day. Colleen Speaker, Percival, Lyskawa and Prinz will all be honored prior to the match.
Duquesne-4, WVU-3
Singles
1. Stacey Percival (WVU) def. Zena Williams (DU), 7-5, 6-3
2. Monica Lyskawa (WVU) def. Johanna Bezjak (DU), 1-6, 7-5, 6-2
3. Natalia Prinz (WVU) def. Rebecca Poole (DU), 7-6, 2-6, 6-1
4. Rachel McGowan (DU) def. Colleen Speaker (WVU), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
5. Andrea Sailer (DU) def. Ashley Pilsbury (WVU), 6-3, 7-5
6. Kristen Swenson (DU) def. Stephanie LaFortune (WVU), 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
1. Bezjak/McGowan (DU) def. Percival/Prinz (WVU), 8-5
2. Williams/Poole (DU) def. Lyskawa/LaFortune (WVU), 8-2
3. Sailer/Albano (DU) def. Pilsbury/Burton (WVU), 8-6
