Tennis: Mountaineers Take Down Youngstown
January 23, 2010 08:18 PM | General
By Tiffany Doolittle for MSNsportsNET.com
January 23, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University tennis team defeated Youngstown, 5-1, today at the Ridgeview Racquet Club in its first match of the season.
“I was very impressed with how we started off our season,” says coach Marc Walters. “The upperclassmen played like upperclassman and the younger girls played calmly and stayed focused.”
The Mountaineers swept the doubles competition with two wins in the No. 1 and 2 spots. Senior Stephanie LaFortune and redshirt junior Monique Burton recorded an 8-2 win over YSU’s Tanisha Welch and Anna Volkova, while sophomore Veronica Cardenas and freshman Emily Mathis defeated Nicole Haralambopoulos and Margarita Sadovnikova, 8-4.
“We were in control of our matches from beginning to end and we stayed in control throughout,” says Walters. “I think our fitness and conditioning helped us out a lot today.”
Junior Ashley Pilsbury started the singles competition with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over the penguins' No. 5 Hannah Patten, while Mathis defeated Haralambopoulos 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 4 spot.
Also contributing to the Mountaineers’ victory was Cardenas and Burton in the No. 2 and 3 spots. Burton won 8-2, 7-6 in her match against Welch, while Cardenas posted a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Volkova.
“Veronica had a terrific win today,” says Walters. “She played extremely well against a girl that was a rough opponent for us in the past and finished with a solid win.”
LaFortune played a tough third-set tiebreaker in the No. 1 spot against Sadovnikova, in which she won the first set 6-3, but was defeated 3-6, 5-10 in the last two sets.
“I’m hoping that we can build on our performance today and keep getting stronger to continue having these kinds of results,” adds Walters.
The Mountaineers will continue play Jan. 29, against Liberty at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
