Monday, April 04, 2011

MACON, Ga. (April 2, 2011) – After defeating Kennesaw State yesterday to earn at least a share of the A-Sun title, the ETSU women’s tennis team defeated Mercer, 6-1, Saturday afternoon to clinch the A-Sun regular season title outright. The Bucs have now won three straight A-Sun regular season titles and five since joining the A-Sun in 2005-06.

"It is just extremely satisfying to win an A-Sun regular season championship," said ETSU Director of Tennis Yaser Zaatini. "Obviously all of this would not be possible without the work of coach Travis Sandlant and coach Tara Byrne. They have taken ownership of this program and they have really worked together to make it what it is."

With the victory, the Bucs move to 12-6 overall and 9-1 in A-Sun play. Meanwhile, Mercer falls to 4-13 overall and 1-8 in conference play.

"Overall the performance today against Mercer, even though we were victorious, wasn’t what my expectations are for this team,” added Zaatini. "Obviously a victory is a victory, yet you want to carry momentum and continue what we are building on. I don’t think we played extremely well today, yet the girls managed to pull it off but I can assure you that teams are going to hunt us down if we start slacking off and not playing our best tennis. Our best tennis is barely enough when we play it so we need to get it together if we want a good showing in the tournament."

The Bucs made a statement early after cruising through doubles play as they won all three matches to take the 1-0 lead.

ETSU stayed in control in singles play as well after senior Tara Sheets (Gate City, Va.) earned a quick 6-1, 6-3 win over Sarah Hanna at the No. 6 position. Just moments later, the Bucs went up 3-0 after Marine Wieliczko (Rouen, France) defeated Aurelie de Montjou, 6-3, 6-2, at the No. 3 position.

The Bucs wrapped up the match and the conference title at the No. 2 position as junior Paula Jaime (Madrid, Spain) knocked off Amalia Bugge, 6-4, 6-0

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts five of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.