WVU to Compete at BIG EAST Championships
April 21, 2010 11:04 AM | General
April 21, 2010
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| Marc Walters |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University tennis team will compete at the 2010 BIG EAST Championships in South Bend, Ind., Thursday, April 22-25.
The Mountaineers concluded their 2010 regular season with an overall record of 16-6, along with a 6-2 finish in BIG EAST action that included matches against Pitt, Georgetown, Connecticut, Seton Hall and Villanova. Women's tennis does not play a round-robin women's tennis schedule.
“We turned a corner as a team this season because we were willing to do the work early on and play for each other all year when it got tough,” says coach Marc Walters. “It will be what we need to do again for a positive result in South Bend.”
“I just want to play as well as I know we can and win some more matches before separating,” added senior Stephanie LaFortune. “The championships are going to be our last matches together, so think that will be enough to get us pumped up and excited to play the best that we can.”
Ranked as the No. 8 seed, WVU will be matched up against BIG EAST foe and No. 9 seed Cincinnati. The Mountaineers will compete in the first match of the weekend, which will be held on Thursday, April 22, at 9 a.m., at the Courtney Tennis Center and the Leeper Park Tennis Center.
The two teams last met on Cincinnati’s home courts on February 28, where the Mountaineers defeated the Bearcats, 5-2. WVU took the doubles point after the No. 2 pair of sophomore Veronica Cardenas and freshman Emily Mathis defeated UC’s Ksenia Slynko and Elise Woulfe in an 8-6 match, while junior Ashley Pilsbury and freshman Liv Pettersson also won 8-6 over the Bearcats’ No. 3 pair of Abby Mayo and Caitlin O’Gara.
The Mountaineers went 4-2 in the singles competition with a match-clinching 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) victory by sophomore Kathryn Haught against Woulfe in the No. 4 spot. Redshirt junior Monique Burton also contributed to the win in the No. 2 singles spot.
The winner of the WVU-UC match will face No. 1 seed Notre Dame in a 9 a.m. match on Saturday, April 24.
“I look for all of our girls to be ready and competitive because they've been that way all year,” said Walters. “Our doubles have all been solid in conference play this year and I think Monique and Stephanie (LaFortune) are experienced enough to step it up and bring their ‘A’ games.”
WVU was seeded 10th at last year’s BIG EAST Championships in Tampa, Fla. The Mountaineers fell to No. 11 seed Syracuse in the first round, followed by a 4-2 loss to St. John’s in the consolation round.
”Every year is different, but we made huge strides in our confidence this year so it will be interesting to see how far we have come,” Walters concludes. “A couple of wins at this event would be a good indicator that our team is getting more mature, but every team out there will be just as hungry as us.”
For daily recaps and match results, visit www.BIGEAST.org.
