Sunday, September 13, 2009

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Sept. 13, 2009) - Led by senior Yevgeniya Stupak (Kyiv, Ukraine) and junior Tara Sheets (Gate City, Va.) the ETSU women's tennis team closed out the 17^th annual William and Mary Fall Invitational on a high note with two wins at Busch Tennis Center in Williamsburg, Va.

"Overall our girls finished the tournament well," said head coach Steve Brooks. "With it being early in the season I know we have a lot to work on and over the last couple of days some of our players struggled to stay in matches because of conditioning. That being said, it was good to get the season started and now we look forward to coming back and hosting our tournament next weekend."

Playing doubles together for the first time the ETSU duo picked an 8-6 victory over Harvard's Chang and Sibilski, while Stupak closed out play with a fifth-place finish in the Flight A Singles bracket, defeating Winthrop's Elizaveta Zaytseva 6-1, 6-2.

With the victory Stupak -- the reigning 2009 Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year -- revenged a 2009 home loss to the Winthrop all-conference player a season ago.

"I thought Tara and Yevgenyia both looked better today," said Brooks. "Tara adjusted well the last two days with different doubles partners and I'm proud of how Stupak came back after losing Friday and played great throughout the rest of the tournament."

The Lady Bucs return to action next weekend as ETSU host its annual Fall Classic at the Buddy Hartsell Tennis Courts in Johnson City.

For more information on the ETSU women's tennis team, please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.