MEET THE TEAM | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | NEWS | ALMANAC

April 20, 2007

MONROEVILLE, Pa. - For the second-straight season, the Saint Louis women's tennis team downed Dayton in its Atlantic 10 Championship opener. This time the seventh-seeded Billikens claimed a 4-1 win over the No. 10 Flyers (6-18) at Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa., for their fifth-consecutive victory in the series. SLU, which improved to 13-13, will now face second-seeded Richmond (6-7) at 2:30 p.m. (CT) today.

"We just wanted to go out and execute today, and we did that," head coach Jonathan Zych said. "It was also nice to win our first match in a timely fashion since we've got to play again this afternoon. This is our shot; we've got nothing to lose. Our players are excited to play Richmond, and we've got two seniors (Katerina Lozanova and Ana Renda) who are playing really well. They're really pushing our team forward."

Renda and Jo Becker got the team off to a good start with an 8-3 win over Nicole Dzubay and Mackenzie Hoops at No. 2 doubles. The Billikens' top tandem of Lozanova and Tara Grant then beat Allysa Detroy and Kate Mellion 8-5 to gain the doubles point. SLU's No. 3 pair was beating its counterpart 8-7 when the match was called after the Bills won the first two matches.

In singles action, Lozanova defeated Mellion at No. 1 for the second-straight time this season to put Saint Louis up 2-0. Then Becker easily beat Erin Wilkie 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5 singles for a 3-0 lead. After Rachel McCullagh fell to Megan Gray 1-6, 3-6, Renda clinched the team victory with a 6-2, 6-1 decision against Allysa Detroy.

Richmond, which received a first-round bye, is looking for its fourth-straight A-10 title. The Billikens have never played the Spiders. Reigning A-10 Most Outstanding Rookie Pamela Duran is ranked 98th among NCAA Division I singles players in the latest FILA/ITA Collegiate Rankings.

Doubles
No. 1 - Tara Grant/Katerina Lozanova (SLU) def. Allysa Detroy/Kate Mellion (UD) - 8-5
No. 2 - Jo Becker/Ana Renda (SLU) def. Nicole Dzubay/Mackenzie Hoops (UD) - 8-3
No. 3 - Allison Dobbins/Rachel McCullagh (SLU) vs. Maggie Ernst/Megan Gray (UD) - 8-7 DNF

Singles
No. 1 - Katerina Lozanova (SLU) def. Kate Mellion (UD) - 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 - Ana Renda (SLU) def. Allysa Detroy (UD) - 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 - Nicole Dzubay (UD) vs. Tara Grant (SLU) - 7-5, 3-0 DNF
No. 4 - Megan Gray (UD) def. Rachel McCullagh (SLU) - 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 - Jo Becker (SLU) def. Erin Wilkie (UD) - 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 - Caitlin Bokulic (SLU) vs. Mackenzie Hoops (UD) - 6-3, 0-6, 3-1 DNF

Saint Louis Billikens Women's Tennis

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