Saturday, January 31, 2004

RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 31, 2004) - The East Tennessee State women's tennis team opened spring competition with the VCU 4-1 Invitational at the Thalhimer Tennis Center garnering wins over George Mason University and Norfolk State. The Buccaneers claimed victory over George Mason, 4-1 early Saturday morning. Seniors Jessica Irey (Clewiston, Fla.) and Tatiana Arriaran (Cochabamba, Blolivia) produced singles wins for the Bucs. Junior Gemma Halim (Jakarka, Indonesia) also helped secure the win with her victory against George Mason's Jamie Delorie 6-1, 6-1. Sophomore Sylwia Ziolkowska (Warsaw, Poland) fought a hard battle against Maricel Ballester 2-6, 6-3, 2-2 forcing a tiebreaker loss 10-3. The doubles point was won by the team of Courtney McInnis (Waterboro, Maine) and Jewel Aldea (Charleston, S.C.) Success continued on Saturday night as ETSU swept Norfolk State 5-0. Singles wins were easily taken by McInnis, Irey, Halim, and freshman Mariya Ilyina (Kyiv, Ukraine). Ilyina won her first regular season match against Norfolk State's Melencia Johnson 6-0, 6-0. "I thought that we played well in both of today's matches," commented head coach Steve Brooks. "It's a good start to the season." The Buccaneer women's tennis team will continue action at the VCU 4-1 on Sunday, Feb. 1. ETSU is scheduled to face American at 10:00 a.m. and Virginia Commonwealth at 2:00 p.m. RESULTS ETSU 4, George Mason 1 Singles 1.Jessica Irey def. Jenn Dektas 6-4, 6-4 2. Maricel Ballester def. Sylwia Ziolkowska 2-6, 6-3, 2-2 (3) 3.Gemma Halim def. Jamie Delorie 6-1, 6-1 4.Tatiana Arriaran def. Katie Sloper 6-4, 7-5 Doubles Courtney McInnis / Jewel Aldea def. Melissa Wooten / Natalie Oudar 6-1, 6-2 ETSU 5, Norfolk State 0 Singles 1. Courtney McInnis def. Flaminia Migone 6-1, 6-2 2. Jessica Irey def. Nura Vegirmencia 6-1, 6-0 3. Gemma Halim def. Leizbeth Hoyos 6-1, 6-0 4. Mariya Ilyina def. Melencia Johnson 6-0, 6-0 Doubles Tatiana Arriaran / Aimee Villavicencio def. Norfolk State (default)