Women's Tennis: WVU Falls to Rutgers

By Tiffany Doolittle for WVUsports.com
April 28, 2011 02:07 PM

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University tennis team fell in the first round of the BIG EAST Championships in South Bend, Ind., today, in a 4-0 match against No. 6-seeded Rutgers.

“We continued to compete well and almost every match was competitive,” says coach Tina Samara. “Our girls have to continue to work hard over the summer and be committed to the process to improve for next year.”

The match began with the singles competition, in which Rutgers’ No. 6 Vanessa Petrini captured the first point in a 6-3, 6-0 match against freshman Anna Rodionova.

The Scarlet Knights’ Maryana Milchutskey continued the lead with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over junior Veronica Cardenas in the No. 4 spot, followed by Rutgers’ Amy Zhang defeating freshman Melis Tanik, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 1 spot.

Senior Ashley Pilsbury fought to turn the match around in the No. 5 spot, but Stefania Balasa clinched the match for the Scarlet Knights in a close 7-5, 7-5 match.

Due to the early decision, the remaining matches were stopped.

The Mountaineers will continue action on Friday, April 29, as they face BIG EAST foe St. John’s at 3 p.m.

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