Tennis: WVU Moves On at the BIG EAST
April 22, 2010 05:35 PM | General
April 22, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University tennis team defeated BIG EAST foe and No. 9 seed Cincinnati, 4-2, today, in the first round of the BIG EAST Championships.
“I am really excited that we came out and played as well as we did all year,” says coach Marc Walters. “Everyone contributed to the win and hung in there without giving anything away.”
WVU started the match by sweeping the doubles competition. No. 1 pair of senior Stephanie LaFortune and redshirt junior Monique Burton defeated UC’s Safiyya Ismail and Lindsey Lonergan, 8-3, followed by an 8-2 victory for the No. 2 pair of sophomore Veronica Cardenas and freshman Emily Mathis. Junior Ashley Pilsbury and freshman Liv Pettersson also captured a doubles win as they defeated the Bearcat’s Abby Mayo and Caitlin O’Gara, 8-5, in the No. 3 spot.
The Mountaineers continued the lead in the singles competition as Cardenas (No. 3) defeated Lonergan in a 6-4, 7-5, match, while Mathis (No. 4) won 7-6(5), 6-2, over UC’s Elise Woulfe. Sophomore Kathryn Haught (No. 5) fought hard for each set, but fell to O’Gara, 7-6(7), 7-6(8). Pilsbury concluded the day with a 6-0, 7-5, victory in the No. 6 spot over Mayo.
“Veronica played tough all day and controlled her match well, which we needed,” adds Walters. “Emilly also played solid and you couldn’t tell by watching her that she was only a freshman. I was really proud of everyone’s performance today.”
The Mountaineers will continue action on Friday, April 23, in the second round of the BIG EAST Championships, where they will compete against No. 1 seed Notre Dame at 9 a.m.
“Notre Dame is a very talented team, and they will be playing on their home courts,” concludes Walters, “but if we compete at the same level and with the same focus as we did today, I think that we can do just as well against them.”
For match times and results, go to www.BIGEAST.org.
