Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
West Virginia
Tennis Defeats In-State Rival West Virginia, 7-0, Saturday
1/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 24, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Marshall University women's tennis team began its first road trip of its 2009 campaign with a 7-0 decision over in-state rival West Virginia University, Saturday afternoon, at the Ridgeview Racquet Club. The No. 46 Thundering Herd improved to 1-1 overall, while the Mountaineers is 0-2 so far this season.
"West Virginia gave an excellent effort today," Marshall's head coach John Mercer said. "We did a great job improving from our first match to today."
The Herd's No. 44 senior tandem of Kellie Schmitt (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Karolina Soor (Lindesburg, Sweden) took an 8-1 decision over the duo of Gabriela Blaskovicova and Ashley Pilsbury at the No. 1. The pair of Jessica Keener (Reston, Va.) and Deanna Bailey (McDonough, Ga.) defeated the team of Stephanie LaFortune and Milica Pantovic, 8-4, at the No. 2 to secure the doubles point.
West Virginia's lone victory of the day was from the duo of Veronica Cardenas and Olga Elkin over Marshall's Kristina Koprcina (Split, Croatia) and Catherine Kellner (Smithtown, N.Y.), 8-5, at the No. 3.
"We played a steadier match today than we did last weekend against Kentucky," Coach Mercer added.
Marshall headed into singles play with a 1-0 lead. The Herd continued its winning streak by sweeping all six singles matches in straight-sets.
The 33rd-ranked Schmitt defeated LaFortune, 6-1, 6-2, at the No. 1. Sophomore Isabell Raich (Klaus, Austria) took a 6-1, 6-3 advantage over Elkin at the No. 2. Soor defeated Pilsbury, 6-0, 6-3, at the No. 3.
Playing at the No. 4, Bailey took a 6-2, 6-0 decision over Cardenas. Keener defeated Pantovic, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 5. Kellner finished the singles sweep with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Blaskovicova at the No. 6.
With the win, Marshall enhanced its all-time series lead over West Virginia to 10-3. Today's victory marked the Herd's eighth straight win over the Mountaineers. West Virginia's last win over Marshall was in 1997.
"It will be good to play another Big East team tomorrow," Coach Mercer added. "Cincinnati has been working hard on their program and we hope to continue to play well on the road."
Marshall will continue its first weekend of road trip matches at the University of Cincinnati (1-0), Sunday, with first serve set for 4 p.m. at the Western Tennis and Fitness Club. The Herd and the Bearcats have faced each other 12 times in school history with Marshall leading the all-time series, 11-1. The Herd took a 7-0 decision over the Bearcats last season in Huntington.
Tennis Match Results
Marshall vs West Virginia
1/24/2009 at Morgantown, W. Va.
#46 Marshall 7, West Virginia 0
Singles competition
1. #33 Kellie Schmitt (MAR) def. Stephanie LaFortune (WVU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Isabell Raich (MAR) def. Olga Elkin (WVU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Karolina Soor (MAR) def. Ashley Pilsbury (WVU) 6-0, 6-3
4. Deanna Bailey (MAR) def. Veronica Cardenas (WVU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Jessica Keener (MAR) def. Milica Pantovic (WVU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Catherine Kellner (MAR) def. GabrielaBlaskovicova (WVU) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #44 Kellie Schmitt/Karolina Soor (MAR) def. GabrielaBlaskovicova/Ashley Pilsbury (WVU) 8-1
2. Jessica Keener/Deanna Bailey (MAR) def. Stephanie LaFortune/Milica Pantovic (WVU) 8-4
3. Veronica Cardenas/Olga Elkin (WVU) def. Kristina Koprcina/Catherine Kellner (MAR) 8-5
Match Notes:
Marshall 1-1; National ranking #46
West Virginia 0-2
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Players Mentioned
