W&M Women’s Tennis Falls at No. 4 Duke, 4-0

Tribe’s Season Ends in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

05/15/04 11:59PM

DURHAM, NC - William and Mary’s 36th-ranked women’s tennis team lost at No. 4 Duke, 4-0, this evening in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, played at the Ambler Tennis Center. The loss ends the Tribe’s season with a final record of 20-13, while the Blue Devils improve to 21-4.

Duke opened the match by winning the doubles point with victories on courts two and three. The Blue Devils’ team of Katie Blaszak and Kristin Cargill was off first, with an 8-2 win on court three over W&M freshmen Alex de Guzman (Holmdel, NJ) and Emily Mowery (Bradenton, FL). Duke clinched the point with an 8-3 win at No. 2 by Saras Arasu and Amanda Johnson over Tribe juniors Kate Boomershine (Glenwood, MD) and Lena Sherbakov (Mountain View, CA).

The Blue Devils then won the first, third and fourth singles matches to clinch the team victory. The contest on court three ended first with Tory Zawacki defeating junior Amy Wei (Marietta, GA), 6-1, 6-1. Duke took a 3-0 lead with a win by Johnson, ranked eighth in the nation, over Tribe sophomore Megan Muth (Covington, LA), ranked 25th, 6-1, 6-3, in the top match. The contest ended with a 6-4, 6-3 win by Blaszak over sophomore Lingda Yang (Coconut Creek, FL) on court four.

“We were hoping that Duke would be down today, as they looked a little flat yesterday,” said W&M head coach Kevin Epley. “I have to hand it to them – they came out today with a whole different attitude. They deserve a lot of credit today, they played a great match.”

While the loss ends the season for the women’s tennis team, a pair of W&M individuals will continue play at the NCAA Individual Tournament, beginning May 24 in Athens, Georgia. Muth will compete for the national singles championship, while she and Wei, ranked 26th in the nation, have been selected to the doubles draw.


#4 Duke 4, #36 William and Mary 0
2004 NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament Second Round

Singles
1. #8 Amanda Johnson (DU) d. #25 Megan Muth; 6-1, 6-3 (1:12)
2. #114 Lena Sherbakov (W&M) vs. #112 Jennifer Zika; suspended
3. Tory Zawacki (DU) d. Amy Wei; 6-1, 6-1 (1:10)
4. Katie Blaszak (DU) d. Lingda Yang; 6-4, 6-3 (1:22)
5. Emily Mowery (W&M) vs. Saras Arasu; suspended
6. Kristen Dunbar (W&M) vs. Kristin Cargill; suspended
Order of finish: 3, 1, 4

Doubles
1. #26 Muth/Wei (W&M) vs. #51 Julia Smith/Zawacki; suspended
2. Arasu/Johnson (DU) d. Kate Boomershine/Sherbakov; 8-3 (0:51)
3. Blaszak/Cargill (DU) d. Alex de Guzman/Mowery; 8-2 (0:41)
Order of finish: 3, 2

(Match times in parentheses)