Saturday, February 01, 2003

RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 1, 2003) - The East Tennessee State women's tennis team split two matches, falling to host Virginia Commonwealth, 5-0, then defeating George Mason, 5-0, in Saturday action of the VCU 4-1 Invitational from the Thalhimer Tennis Center in Richmond, Va. In Saturday's first match, VCU (3-0) swept all four singles matches and the lone doubles match. Freshman Sylwia Ziolkowska (Warsaw, Poland) fell at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-3, to VCU's Christina Arribas. At No. 2 singles, junior Courtney McInnis (Waterboro, Ma.) was defeated by Beatriz Cabrera of Virginia Commonwealth, 6-1, 6-3. Junior Tatiana Arriaran (Cochabamba, Bolivia) dropped her match at No. 3 singles to Marina Escobar-Martinez of the Rams, 6-0, 6-0. In the final singles match, freshman Jewel Aldea (Charleston, S.C.) fell to Ana Franco-Lopez of VCU at No. 4, 6-3, 6-0. In the doubles match, junior Jessica Irey (Clewiston, Fla.) and sophomore Gemma Halim (Jakarta, Indonesia) fell to Silvia Urickova and Barbara Zahnova of VCU, 6-4, 6-1. Against George Mason (0-3), the Buccaneers (2-2) turned the tables, recording a shutout of their own. Ziolkowska defeated Jenn Dektas of the Patriots at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-0. McInnis defeated GMU's Dinali DeSilva, 4-6, 6-0, 10-6, at No. 2 singles. At No. 3 singles, Irey won over George Mason's Kelly Melichar, 6-1, 6-1. Junior Aimee Villavicencio (Louisville, Ky.) picked up ETSU's last singles victory, defeating GMU's Katie Sloper, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4. Arriaran and Halim won over Patriot tandem Suzan Tugberk and Jill Collins, 6-0, 6-1, in the lone doubles matchup. "We played better than last weekend, but we still have some mental and strategy situations that we need to work on," said ETSU head coach Steve Brooks after the two matches. "But I am very happy with our progress." ETSU will face East Carolina tomorrow at 8 a.m. before facing Norfolk State at 11 a.m. in the final day of the VCU 4-1 from Richmond, Va. VCU 5, ETSU 0 Singles 1. Christina Arribas (VCU) def. Sylwia Ziolkowska (ETSU), 6-3, 6-3 2. Beatriz Cabrera (VCU) def. Courtney McInnis (ETSU), 6-1, 6-3 3. Marina Escobar-Martinez (VCU) def. Tatiana Arriaran (ETSU), 6-0, 6-0 4. Ana Franco-Lopez (VCU) def. Jewel Aldea (ETSU), 6-3, 6-0 Doubles 1. Silva Urickova/Barbora Zahnova (VCU) def. Jessica Irey/Gemma Halim (ETSU), 6-4, 6-1 ETSU 5, George Mason 0 Singles 1. Sylwia Ziolkowska (ETSU) d. Jenn Dektas (GMU) 6-2, 6-0 2. Courtney McInnis (ETSU) d. Dinali DeSilva (GMU) 4-6, 6-0 (10-6) 3. Jessica Irey (ETSU) d. Kelly Melichar (GMU) 6-1, 6-1 4. Aimee Villavicencio (ETSU) d. Katie Sloper (GMU) 6-4, 6-4 Doubles 1. Tatiana Arriaran/Gemma Halim (ETSU) d. Suzan Tugberk/Jill Collins (GMU) 6-0, 6-1