 Billikens Tie for Fifth at A-10 Championships
May 4, 2006
Saint Louis has learned that its fifth-place match against Temple at the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships has been ruled a no contest by the conference's women's tennis committee. Therefore, the Billikens and Temple will tie for fifth-place in the conference standings. SLU ends the year with a 15-9 overall record, its best record since the 1997 season. At the A-10 Championships, the seventh-seeded Billikens posted a 2-1 record with wins against No. 10 Dayton and sixth-seeded George Washington. Their only loss came against second-seeded and conference runner-up Charlotte. "One of a number of our goals this year was to finish in the top five at the A-10 Championships, and like many of our other goals we achieved it," Billiken head coach Jonathan Zych said. "I am ecstatic about our finish because we battled through some injuries and adversity this season, but the girls persevered and ended on a high note at the A-10 Championships." The Billikens were led by Amanda Hellberg, who posted a 16-5 singles record and collected 19 victories in doubles play. Katerina Lozanova, who missed time in the middle of the season due to injury, came on late and contributed at the A-10s. Rachel McCullagh and Tara Grant were solid contributors in the middle of the lineup, and Ana Renda proved valuable after returning from off-season knee surgery. Jo Becker, Caitlin Bokulic and Lauren Page all contributed at different points in the season and were relied upon to fill voids caused by various injuries. "At the beginning of the season, we were picked to finish in the lower tier of the conference, but the girls stepped up and surprised some people," Zych said. "I was extremely pleased with our doubles play, as we won 16 doubles points out of 24 matches."
Without a senior on this year's roster, all letterwinners will be eligible to return next year. "I expect us to begin next season right where we left off, playing every point as if it is for the national championship," Zych said. "Overall we had a terrific season, but we didn't show how good we can really be. |
|
