Women's Tennis: Mountaineers Blanked by Cardinals
January 23, 2011 05:05 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University tennis team was defeated, 7-0, by the Cardinals today, in Louisville, Ky.
“The team came out with better body language and competed harder than they did yesterday,” says coach Tina Samara. “They saw that Louisville is a tougher team and they aren’t even a top ten team, so it was an eye-opener for our girls.”
The Cardinals began the match by sweeping the doubles competition. The Mountaineers’ doubles pair of sophomore Emily Mathis and freshman Melis Tanik had a close match in the No. 2 spot, but fell 7-2 in the tiebreaker.
“Louisville was simply stronger and in better shape than our team,” adds Samara. “Now when we’re telling the team to do more strength and conditioning, and to get lower and hit harder, they know why. If you are strong and fit, it makes it easier to play better, smarter tennis.”
The struggle for the Mountaineers continued in the singles competition, as the Cardinals captured the win in all six matches. Junior Veronica Cardenas had a good showing in the No. 3 spot, but was defeated by Louisville’s Becca Shine, 6-3, 6-3.
“It was a good match for them to see what conference action is really like, because Louisville is in our conference,” concludes Samara. “As coaches, we hope this shows them how much harder they need to be working if they’re being honest about competing for the conference championship.”
WVU will continue play tomorrow, as the team travels to Morehead, Ky., to compete against the Eagles at 11 a.m.
“The team came out with better body language and competed harder than they did yesterday,” says coach Tina Samara. “They saw that Louisville is a tougher team and they aren’t even a top ten team, so it was an eye-opener for our girls.”
The Cardinals began the match by sweeping the doubles competition. The Mountaineers’ doubles pair of sophomore Emily Mathis and freshman Melis Tanik had a close match in the No. 2 spot, but fell 7-2 in the tiebreaker.
“Louisville was simply stronger and in better shape than our team,” adds Samara. “Now when we’re telling the team to do more strength and conditioning, and to get lower and hit harder, they know why. If you are strong and fit, it makes it easier to play better, smarter tennis.”
The struggle for the Mountaineers continued in the singles competition, as the Cardinals captured the win in all six matches. Junior Veronica Cardenas had a good showing in the No. 3 spot, but was defeated by Louisville’s Becca Shine, 6-3, 6-3.
“It was a good match for them to see what conference action is really like, because Louisville is in our conference,” concludes Samara. “As coaches, we hope this shows them how much harder they need to be working if they’re being honest about competing for the conference championship.”
WVU will continue play tomorrow, as the team travels to Morehead, Ky., to compete against the Eagles at 11 a.m.
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