Women's Tennis: Mountaineers Fall to Vulcans
February 20, 2011 05:10 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University tennis team (2-6, 1-1 BIG EAST) fell to California (Pa.), today, in a 3-4 match at the Ridgeview Racquet Club.
“We beat ourselves, because we didn’t even put ourselves in the running on some of the courts,” says coach Tina Samara. “I’m not going to take anything away from the other team, because it's a really good Division-II team, but it’s a beatable team."
The Mountaineers started the day with a victory in the No. 1 doubles spot by junior Veronica Cardenas and freshman Mary Chupa in an 8-5 match against Cal’s Annabel Pieschl and Jade Pondicas.
The Vulcans came back to capture the doubles point with two back-to-back wins in the No. 2 and 3 doubles matches.
"(Cal) came out and did what they needed to do as a team to win," adds Samara. "We didn’t even show up in some spots.”
Chupa led the Mountaineers with a victory in the No. 3 singles spot over Cal’s Anastassiya Zherdeva, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, followed by sophomore Emily Mathis capturing a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the No. 2 spot.
The Vulcans clinched the match with three-consecutive wins in the No. 1, 4 and 6 spots over Cardenas (No. 1), freshman Melis Tanik (No. 4) and sophomore Liv Pettersson (No. 6).
Senior Ashley Pilsbury finished the match strong with a tough 5-7, 6-4, 11-9 victory in the No. 5 spot, over Cal’s Axelle Fernandez.
“We’re going to continue working hard until the team has no choice but to win, because of how hard they’ll be working,” Samara concludes. “It comes down to the culture of the team and how much they’re investing in it physically and emotionally.”
The Mountaineers will continue action on Feb. 26-27, as they travel to Syracuse, N.Y., to go up against BIG EAST opponents Villanova (Feb. 26) and Syracuse (Feb. 27) in two 10 a.m., matches.
“We beat ourselves, because we didn’t even put ourselves in the running on some of the courts,” says coach Tina Samara. “I’m not going to take anything away from the other team, because it's a really good Division-II team, but it’s a beatable team."
The Mountaineers started the day with a victory in the No. 1 doubles spot by junior Veronica Cardenas and freshman Mary Chupa in an 8-5 match against Cal’s Annabel Pieschl and Jade Pondicas.
The Vulcans came back to capture the doubles point with two back-to-back wins in the No. 2 and 3 doubles matches.
"(Cal) came out and did what they needed to do as a team to win," adds Samara. "We didn’t even show up in some spots.”
Chupa led the Mountaineers with a victory in the No. 3 singles spot over Cal’s Anastassiya Zherdeva, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, followed by sophomore Emily Mathis capturing a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the No. 2 spot.
The Vulcans clinched the match with three-consecutive wins in the No. 1, 4 and 6 spots over Cardenas (No. 1), freshman Melis Tanik (No. 4) and sophomore Liv Pettersson (No. 6).
Senior Ashley Pilsbury finished the match strong with a tough 5-7, 6-4, 11-9 victory in the No. 5 spot, over Cal’s Axelle Fernandez.
“We’re going to continue working hard until the team has no choice but to win, because of how hard they’ll be working,” Samara concludes. “It comes down to the culture of the team and how much they’re investing in it physically and emotionally.”
The Mountaineers will continue action on Feb. 26-27, as they travel to Syracuse, N.Y., to go up against BIG EAST opponents Villanova (Feb. 26) and Syracuse (Feb. 27) in two 10 a.m., matches.
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