Women's Tennis: WVU Falls to Rutgers

By Tiffany Doolittle for WVUsports.com
April 03, 2011 04:13 PM

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University tennis team (7-11, 3-4 BIG EAST) fell to BIG EAST foe Rutgers today, in a 1-6 match at the Ridgeview Racquet Club

“Despite the loss, we competed really well and a lot of the matches were tight,” says coach Tina Samara. “We’re not focused on the wins and losses right now, but more on how well we’re competing.”

Junior Veronica Cardenas and sophomore Liv Pettersson captured the Mountaineers’ lone doubles victory in an 8-7(5) match in the No. 2 spot.

After capturing a win in the No. 1 spot, the Scarlet Knights clinched the doubles point in a close 8-6 match over senior Ashley Pilsbury and freshman Melis Tanik in the No. 3 spot.

The Mountaineers continued to put up a fight in the singles competition, but came up short in several matches.

Freshman Mary Chupa captured the only point, with a 7-6(1), 5-7, 6-1 victory in the No. 3 singles spot.

Tanik (No. 1) and Cardenas (No. 4) also fought to tiebreakers, but fell behind in the third set of their respective matches.

Sophomore Emily Mathis had a good showing in the No. 2 spot, but fell in a close 6-5, 6-5 match, while Pilsbury and Pettersson were defeated in the No. 5 and 6 spots.

“If we continue to compete like we did today, we can start winning close matches like these,” Samara concludes. “We keep reminding them that even if they’re not winning their matches right now, that doesn’t mean they’re not getting better. We saw noticeable progress today, and that’s a huge step for us.”

The Mountaineers will continue action on April 9-10, as they travel to Hartford, Connecticut for two BIG EAST matches against UCONN and Marquette at 10 a.m.

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