Four Tribe Singles in Final 16 at Women's Tennis Regional

W&M Wins Nine Matches on Day Three of Championships

10/27/02

CAMBRIDGE, MA - William and Mary’s women’s tennis team had an outstanding day at the Omni Hotels ITA East Regional Women’s Tennis Championships, winning nine of 12 total matches and placing four singles players in the final 16 of the tournament.

W&M individuals recorded a total of four upset victories on the day, led by senior Nina Kamp (Pine Brook, NJ), the only unseeded individual left in the singles draw. Kamp recorded two straight-set upsets, beginning with a win in the second round over 5-8 seed and 82nd-ranked Jessica Johnson (Marshall), 6-4, 6-4. In the third round Kamp defeated 25-32 seed Sanja Bajin (Harvard), 6-4, 7-5.

Just as impressive was the play of Tribe rookie Megan Muth (Covington, LA), a 25-32 seed who defeated Nataliva Kostava (St. John’s), 6-3, 6-2, before posting a come-from-behind win over the tournament’s third seed, #88 Emily Marker (Maryland), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Sophomores Amy Wei (Marietta, GA) and Kate Boomershine (Glenwood, MD) also won their two matches on the day. A 17-24 seed, Wei defeated Marta Jedrzejak (Maryland), 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, and then upset 5-8 seed Eva Wang (Harvard), 6-2, 6-2. Boomershine, a 9-16 seed, rolled past Melissa Nguyen (Columbia), 6-0, 6-1, and then took down 17-24 seed Jayme Ahmed (Dartmouth), 7-6 (3), 6-0.

Also competing on the day, Tribe sophomore Lena Sherbakov (Mountain View, CA) won her first match over Milena Matijevic (Niagara), 6-3, 6-1, but later lost to the tournament’s fourth seed, #54 Danira Penic (Temple), 6-2, 6-0. Senior Kari Olsen (San Diego, CA) lost to 17-24 seed Margaret Purcell (Yale), 7-6 (4), 6-3, while in doubles Muth and Sherbakov fell to Harvard’s 47th-ranked team of Bajin/Alexis Martire, 8-1.

“I’m really excited about the level of play that we have exhibited,” said Tribe head coach Brian Kalbas. “To beat three of the top eight seeds--it just shows that our hard work and commitment to improve is really paying off in a big tournament. I’m very excited to see how well we’re performing so far.”

The Tribe will continue play in the tournament tomorrow, as the singles field gets cut from 16 to the final four competitors.