Billikens Shut Out Rams in A-10 First Round
April 18, 2008 MONROEVILLE, Pa. - Decisive victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles powered eighth-seeded Saint Louis to a 4-0 victory over ninth-seeded Fordham Friday morning in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Women's Tennis Championship at Club 4 Life. The Billikens (12-10) will meet top-seeded Massachusetts (11-10), which received a first-round bye, in a quarterfinals match at 2:30 p.m. (CT) Friday. Saint Louis quickly collected the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. Freshman Hailee Elmore (Springfield, Ill./Springfield) and junior Joe Becker (Frankfurt, Germany/Ziehen School) defeated Catherine Kellner and Martina Featherston 8-2 at No. 2, while seniors Tara Grant (Austin, Texas/St. Stephen's) and Rachel McCullagh (Sugar Land, Texas/John Newcombe) blanked Elizabeth Stall and Brittany Russell 8-0 at No. 3. Senior Amanda Hellberg (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) and freshman Casey Miller (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's) trailed Dominique Liguori and Ellenoira Featherston 4-3 at No. 1 when their match was halted. "If we do well in this tournament, it will be due in large part to our doubles play," head coach Jonathan Zych said. "We'll have a chance in every match if we play up to our potential in doubles." Fordham players were up a set at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles, but it was a moot point as the Bills won at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 to clinch the win. Becker and Grant withstood first-set challenges at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, and won in straight sets. Becker beat Martina Featherston 7-6, 6-1, and Grant was a 7-5, 6-1 winner over Stall. McCullagh breezed past Russell 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6.
"Tara's win clinched the match for us," Zych said. "She did a great job, and it was a big win for her because she hadn't won in singles in about a month. She's a senior, and she came through for the team when it counted." In unfinished singles action, Ligouri led Hellberg 6-2, 2-2 at No. 1, Kellner led Elmore 6-2, 2-3 at No. 2 and Ellenoira Featherston held a 7-6, 1-1 edge over Miller at No. 3. "We did what we wanted to do, get off the court quickly with a win," Zych said. "We turn around and play again this afternoon, but there are no excuses because the Fordham match lasted just a couple of hours. Our players will be going for it hard against UMass." |
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