Marshall University Athletics
Schmitt Garners C-USA Tennis Player of the Month
11/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Nov. 11, 2008
IRVING, Texas - The Thundering Herd's senior Kellie Schmitt (Pittsburgh, Pa.) earned her fourth career Conference USA Tennis Player of the Month honor Tuesday, as announced by the league office. Schmitt's accolade marks the fourth honor for Marshall University women's tennis.
Schmitt notched a 4-2 singles and 5-2 doubles record for the months of October and November. She finished the 2008 fall season 10-5 in singles and 11-6 in doubles play.
"I am excited to receive this honor because it has been one of the roughest fall seasons for me," Schmitt said. "It is good to end the fall season on a positive note."
Schmitt earned an automatic bid to the first round of the singles and doubles main draw as the number one seed at the ITA East Regional Championships late in October. During singles action, she advanced to the fourth round before falling in three sets to Princeton's Lauren McHale. In doubles play, Schmitt teamed-up with senior Karolina Soor (Lindesberg, Sweden) to advance to the quarterfinal round before falling to Jennifer Stevens and Emily Fraser of the University of Virginia.
Last weekend, Schmitt and the Herd competed at the fifth annual Kitty Harrison Invitational at the University of North Carolina campus to finish the 2008 fall season. Schmitt (42nd) upset North Carolina's 23rd-ranked Katrina Tsang in straight-sets during first day of play. She finished singles play, 2-1, at the invitational. The senior tandem of Schmitt and Soor went 2-1 at the invitational with wins over teams from Duke and Maryland.
The senior earned two C-USA Player of the Month honors in 2006 and one last season in October.
"We are really proud of Kellie's accomplishments because she has worked very hard," Marshall's head coach John Mercer said. "She deserves all the accolades she has earned."
Marshall will open its 2009 season against the University of Kentucky, Saturday, Jan. 17, in Huntington at 11 a.m.
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