Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
VCU
No. 38 VCU Tops Women's Tennis 4-1
3/31/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 31, 2013
BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. -- On the afternoon of Easter Sunday, the Marshall women's tennis team lost a 4-1 decision to No. 38 Virginia Commonwealth University at the Huntington Tennis Club.
"It came down to a couple of points here and there," commented head coach John Mercer. "We feel like we're that close, and this will better prepare us for the conference tournament when we play a lot more teams at that level. We're in the mix; it's just trying to get over that hurdle."
Marshall (9-10, 1-1 Conference USA) claimed the lone point in the five singles spot from Ellie Ball who came from behind to win her second straight match. After dropping the first set 6-1, the sophomore cruised to victory by winning 12 of the next 15 games (1-6, 6-0, 6-3). It was the first three-set victory for the Bristol, England native this season.
VCU (16-4) earned the doubles point courtesy of victories at one and three. After three doubles pair Salome Kvitashvili/Olga Terteac completed the first match with an 8-2 victory over MU's Dana Oppinger/Karlyn Timko, the Rams took advantage of Dominika Zaprazna/Kara Kucin's struggling serve on court one. Marshall broke serve four times at one doubles but was unable to hold serve either. Kvitashvili/Terteac's 8-6 victory clinched the doubles point.
In singles action, #4 Kai Broomfield (3-6, 4-6) and #2 Dana Oppinger (5-7, 2-6) were the first two to finish, giving VCU a 3-0 lead. Once Ball turned in her three-setter, #1 Dominika Zaprazna (4-6, 6-7(7)) fell narrowly to No. 103 Cindy Chala to clinch the victory for the Rams.
The remaining two matches were left unfinished. #3 Maria Voscekova had won the first set of her match but trailed in the third while #6 Kucin's match had just begun.
Marshall will be on the road this coming Saturday for a showdown with Liberty in Lynchburg, Va. The final home test will be the following Wednesday when the Thundering Herd takes on Louisville at the Brian David Fox Tennis Center.
Players Mentioned
