Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
NCAA National Championships
Stanford Eliminates MU From NCAA Doubles National Championship
5/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 26, 2011
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Fourth overall seed Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette of Stanford proved to be too much for Michaela Kissell and Dominika Zaprazna as the Thundering Herd was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Doubles National Championship Tournament on Thursday evening.
Kissell and Zaprazna lost in straight sets to one half of the doubles defending national champions, 6-3, 6-0. Barte and Burdette's older sister Lindsey won the doubles national championship a year ago.
Despite the early exit, MU's duo will go down as one of the most successful tandems in program history. In the past two years, Kissell and Zaprazna have compiled an overall record of 50-15 together. They won the 2009 ITA Atlantic Region Doubles Championship and were runner-up in 2010. They are both in the Top-10 for doubles winning percentage all-time at Marshall.
With two years of eligibility remaining, Zaprazna already has 65 doubles wins under her belt and has a chance to surpass Kellie Schmitt for the most all-time doubles wins at Marshall. Schmitt holds the top mark with 109 victories.
Kissell ends her career as one of the most decorated tennis players in MU history. The accolades are endless for Kissell, who was just recently named the ITA Atlantic Region Senior of the Year. She will leave with the fourth-highest singles winning percentage in program history (55-21 - .723), and the eighth-highest doubles winning percentage (54-21. - .720).
