Saturday, January 25, 2003

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 25, 2003) - East Tennessee State University women's tennis team opened up the spring season with a win over Radford, 5-2, Saturday at Virginia Tech. Freshman Sylwia Ziolkowska (Warsaw, Poland) lost the first two games of her match and went on to win 12 straight to defeat Radford's Jihane Najdi 6-2, 6-0 at number one singles. At number two singles, Buccaneer sophomore Gemma Halim (Jakarta, Indonesia) defeated Caroline Downs 6-2, 6-0. Junior transfer Courtney McInnis (Waterboro, Maine) defeated Christina Glas, 6-2, 6-4 at the number three position. Tatiana Arriaran (Cochabamba, Bolivia) defeated Ashley Stevenson in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 at the number four spot. Radford's Diane Duarte defeated ETSU's Aimee Villavicencio (Lexington, Ky.) 6-4, 6-3 at number five singles. Laura Dickinson defeated ETSU's Jewel Aldea (Charleston, S.C.), 6-7 (7-4), 6-2, 6-1, at the number six spot. The Buccaneers swept the Highlanders in doubles action, 3-0. ETSU's Jessica Irey (Clewiston, Fla.) and Halim defeated Najdi and Glas, 8-3, at the number one position. McInnis and Ziolkowska defeated Downs and Duarte of Radford, 8-3, at the number two spot and Arriaran and Villavicencio defeated Stevenson and Dickenson, 9-8, (7-5), playing in the third position. "Today was a good start to the season," Buccaneer head coach Steve Brooks said. "We played well up top, but we have a lot to work on." The Buccaneers will return to action Feb.1-2, as they travel to Richmond, Va. to participate at the Virginia Commonwealth tournament. Follow the women's tennis team throughout the rest of the season by logging onto www.etsubucs.com for results and highlights.