2008 Woodie Awards
Women's tennis splits matches at PSAC Championships, takes third place
By Phil Swartzlander
Rocket Assistant Sports Editor
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: Sports
The Rock women's tennis team finished in third place at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships last weekend after defeating Millersville in a 5-0 match-up.
The victory was the 22nd on the year moving the 2006-07 team to the top of the school's single-season wins record list.
"The girls came out and did their job, doubles went smoothly and so did singles," Coach Matt Meredith said.
The No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Kayla Blackburn and freshman Laura Handy won their match 8-2.
Blackburn also got the decision in singles, winning 6-1, 6-1, giving the Rock a 2-0 lead in the race to five.
In the No. 2 spot, senior Ashley Greene and freshman Jessica Hilborn won their match 8-5. Hilborn recorded a "double bagel," winning 6-0, 6-0, pushing the Rock to a 4-0 lead. The fifth victory came in the No. 3 doubles spot of sophomores Lara Rizzi and Christina Rhodes as they won easily, 8-1.
"These girls are very deserving of this record," he said. "They are one of the deepest teams and one of the hardest working teams I have ever coached."
The Rock lost in the first round of the PSAC Championships to Bloomsburg by a 5-3 margin in the race to five, assuring the Rock that they could place no higher than third.
The pairing of Blackburn and Handy got the only win for the doubles as they won 8-2. The other two pairings both lost their matches, which, according to Meredith, made it difficult to win.
"We came out slow in doubles, we needed to take two out of three doubles, but we got one," Meredith said.
The other two wins for the Rock came with Blackburn and Handy both winning their singles matches.Blackburn defeated her oppnoent 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, while Handy won a bit easier 6-2, 6-4.Although the Rock lost five matches, most of them were close.Greene and Rizzi both lost their singles matches, and couldn't pull through with the win in doubles play either.
Greene forced a tiebreaker, but lost 6-1, 7-6(5). Rizzi battled hard but could not gain the edge as she lost 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.
SRU qualified third in the region and will take on Bentley (Mass.) College.
The winner of that match will take on the winner of the Bloomsburg-Millersville match.
"I believe Bloomsburg was a little surprised on how strong we came out at PSAC, hopefully we get them again," Meredith said.
The Rock will travel to Bloomsburg once again and play Bentley next Thursday.
"If we play the caliber of tennis we are playing we will be a little stronger than them," Meredith said.
The victory was the 22nd on the year moving the 2006-07 team to the top of the school's single-season wins record list.
"The girls came out and did their job, doubles went smoothly and so did singles," Coach Matt Meredith said.
The No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Kayla Blackburn and freshman Laura Handy won their match 8-2.
Blackburn also got the decision in singles, winning 6-1, 6-1, giving the Rock a 2-0 lead in the race to five.
In the No. 2 spot, senior Ashley Greene and freshman Jessica Hilborn won their match 8-5. Hilborn recorded a "double bagel," winning 6-0, 6-0, pushing the Rock to a 4-0 lead. The fifth victory came in the No. 3 doubles spot of sophomores Lara Rizzi and Christina Rhodes as they won easily, 8-1.
"These girls are very deserving of this record," he said. "They are one of the deepest teams and one of the hardest working teams I have ever coached."
The Rock lost in the first round of the PSAC Championships to Bloomsburg by a 5-3 margin in the race to five, assuring the Rock that they could place no higher than third.
The pairing of Blackburn and Handy got the only win for the doubles as they won 8-2. The other two pairings both lost their matches, which, according to Meredith, made it difficult to win.
"We came out slow in doubles, we needed to take two out of three doubles, but we got one," Meredith said.
The other two wins for the Rock came with Blackburn and Handy both winning their singles matches.Blackburn defeated her oppnoent 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, while Handy won a bit easier 6-2, 6-4.Although the Rock lost five matches, most of them were close.Greene and Rizzi both lost their singles matches, and couldn't pull through with the win in doubles play either.
Greene forced a tiebreaker, but lost 6-1, 7-6(5). Rizzi battled hard but could not gain the edge as she lost 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.
SRU qualified third in the region and will take on Bentley (Mass.) College.
The winner of that match will take on the winner of the Bloomsburg-Millersville match.
"I believe Bloomsburg was a little surprised on how strong we came out at PSAC, hopefully we get them again," Meredith said.
The Rock will travel to Bloomsburg once again and play Bentley next Thursday.
"If we play the caliber of tennis we are playing we will be a little stronger than them," Meredith said.
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