April 25, 2005

St. Louis, Mo. - Saint Louis women's tennis (8-14, 0-3 Conference USA) concluded the 2005 season finishing 13th at the C-USA tournament. The Billikens fell 4-0 to both USF and Memphis last week. The Billikens join the Atlantic 10 Conference for 2005-2006 competition.

THE BILLIKEN COACHING STAFF: Alongside fourth-year head coach Jonathan Zych (28-64) are assistant coaches Shervin Saedinia and Chad Andrews. Prior to her 2003 Billiken coaching appointment, Saedinia played tennis at Syracuse University where she was a four-time MVP. Andrews joined the staff in August 2004 after completing his tennis career as a Billiken.

SINGLE-SIDED:

Katerina Lozanova (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) finished 13-6 overall, 9-3 for spring No. 1 singles ... missed six weeks this spring sidelined with an injury ... lost to Beatrix Csordas (DePaul) 6-2, 2-1, retired ... defeated Gulsah Esen (UAB) 6-4, 7-5 ... defeated Marlene Dirnstorfer (Memphis) 1-6, 6-0, 6-1 ... defeated Elizabeth Garza (SMS) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 ... defeated Amber Lenfert (Western Illiniois) 6-3, 6-3 ... defeated Bryce Kristal (SEMO) 7-6, 6-2 ... defeated Elizabeth Bingier (Illinois State) 6-4, 6-2 ... lost to Viaika Jovanovic (No. 61 Arkansas) 6-4, 6-4 ... defeated Ana Inex Exeni (Wichita State) 6-0, 6-1 ... defeated Sonia Bailey (Oral Roberts) 6-0, 6-0 ... defeated Sonia Bailey (Oral Roberts) 6-0, 6-1 ... lost to Daniela Muscolino (No. 50 Tulsa) 6-1, 6-2 ... lost to Jenny Batty (Memphis Invite vs. Ball State) 6-2, 6-1 ... lost to Anna Lask (Memphis Invite vs. Murray State) 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 ... defeated Sarah Freeman (Eastern Illinois) 6-1, 6-2 ... defeated Amanda Hellberg (Billiken Fall Classic vs. SLU) 7-5, 6-3 ... defeated Teri Chan (Billiken Fall Classic vs. Bradley) 6-3, 6-1 ... defeated Kelley Wood (Billiken Fall Classic vs. Bradley) 6-0, 6-0.

Amanda Hellberg (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) finished at 17-9 overall, 5-2 at No. 1 singles and 8-4 at No. 2 singles (13-6 spring overall) ... was on a four-match win streak after defeating Elise Montrose (Bradley) 6-1, 6-1 ... defeated Holly Smith (Detroit) 6-1, 6-0 ... defeated Victoria Malone (Spring Hill) 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 singles ... defeated Julia Gandia (Clayton State) 6-5, retired, at No. 1 singles ... lost to Nicole Plikat (West Florida) 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 singles ... defeated Meredith Vincent (No. 66 Ohio State) 4-6, 6-1 (10-2) at No. 1 singles ... lost to Jennifer Migan (Indiana State) 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 singles ... lost to Marina Parashkevova (DePaul) 6-4, 6-7 (7-3), 10-6 at No. 2 singles ... defeated Julia von Samson (UAB) 6-3, 6-7 (4), 10-5 ... defeated Andrea Feichtinger (Memphis) 6-1, 7-6 (1) ... defeated Marja Stanojevic (SMS) 6-4, 6-2 ... defeated Jennifer Lutzke (Western Illinois) 6-0, 6-0 ... defeated Drew Kristal (SEMO) 6-0, 6-3 ... lost to Laura Gravino (Illinois State) 6-1, 6-1 ... lost to Maryori Franco (No. 61 Arkansas) 6-2, 6-2 ... defeated Wendi Webster (Wichita State) 6-4, 6-4 ... defeated Adrianna Garcia (Oral Roberts) 6-0, 6-0 ... defeated Adrianna Garcia (Oral Roberts) 6-2, 6-0 ... lost to Santie Delport (No. 50 Tulsa) 6-7 (6), 6-3, 10-4 ... defeated Amanda Tallefer (Memphis Invite vs. SIUC) 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 ... defeated Margot Carter (Memphis Invite vs. Tenn. Tech) 6, 6-3, 6-4 ... lost to Andrea Feichtinger (Memphis Invite vs. Memphis) 7-5, 6-1 ... lost to Sandra Sasidharan (Eastern Illinois) 6-2, 3-6 (10-8) ... lost to teammate Katerina Lozanova (Billiken Fall Classic) 7-5, 6-3 ... defeated Madina Mambetova (Billiken Fall Classic vs. Eastern Illinois) 6-3, 6-1 ... defeated Sandra Sasidharan (Billiken Fall Classic vs. Eastern Illinois) 4-6, 6-4 (12-10).

Ana Renda (Bahia Blanca, Argentina/Escuelo Normal Superior) finished 2-3 at No. 3 singles, but suffered a season-ending knee injury ... lost to Veronique Parke-Bedard (Illinois State) 1-2, and forced to retire with a knee injury ... lost to Iliana Pacheco (No. 61 Arkansas) 7-6 (4), 6-4 ... defeated Genevieve Spink (Wichita State) 6-4, 6-3 ... defeated Emily Arkel (Oral Roberts) 7-6 (5), Arkel retired ... was leading Laine Sommer (Oral Roberts) 6-2, 4-0 when play was suspended ... lost to Carla Zabaleta (No. 50 Tulsa) 6-2, 6-1.

Tara Grant (Austin, Texas/St. Stephen's) finished 14-13 overall, 2-4 at No. 2 singles, 3-4 at No. 3 singles and 3-2 at No. 4 singles (8-10 spring overall) ... defeated Kelley Wood (Bradley) 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 ... defeated Andrea Buter (Detroit) 6-1, 6-3 ... defeated Alexis Murray (Spring Hill) 6-4, 6-4 ... lost to Julia Chergova (Clayton State) 6-2, 6-0 ... lost to Paola Arevalo (West Florida) 6-0, 5-7 (10-6) ... lost to Kristin Messmer (Ohio State) 7-5, 6-2 ... lost to Joanne Schikerling (Indiana State) 6-0, 6-2 ... lost to Gergana Ganeva (DePaul) 6-0, 6-1 ... lost to Omischa Maier-Knapp (UAB) 6-0, 6-0 ... lost to Brooke Cowie (Memphis) 6-0, 6-3 ... lost to Paty Manzur (SMS) 6-2, 6-2 ... defeated Tracey Forkin (Western Illinois) 6-0, 6-1 ... defeated Daniela Garcia (SEMO) 4-6, 6-4 (10-3) at No. 3 singles ... defeated Emilie Sechaud (Illinois State) 6-4, 6-1 at No. 4 singles ... lost to Karina Lefaja (No. 61 Arkansas) 6-1, 6-3 ... defeated Alejandra Ripoll (Wichita State) 6-4, 7-5 ... defeated Laine Sommer (Oral Roberts) 6-4, 7-6 (10) ... was leading Emily Arkel (Oral Roberts) 6-2, 2-1 when play was suspended ... lost to Lisette Pereira (No. 50 Tulsa) 6-2, 6-2.

Tina Grasso (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) finished 6-17 overall, 1-7 at No. 4 singles, 2-5 at No. 5 singles, 1-1 at No. 6 singles (4-13 spring overall) after losing to Kristin Noble (at C-USA vs. Memphis) 6-0, 6-0 ... lost to Liz Cruz (at C-USA vs. USF) 6-0, 6-1 ... defeated Kathleen Bowen (Bradley) 6-1, 6-2 ... Ashley Cummins (Detroit) 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 ... lost to Catherine Thames (Spring Hill) 6-0, 6-2 ... lost to Katrin Gutknecht (Clayton State) 6-1, 6-2 ... lost to Christina Mardones (West Florida) 6-2, 6-2 ... lost to Silvia Prajescu (No. 66 Ohio State) 6-0, 6-0 ... lost to Magda Narczewska (Indiana State) 6-1, 6-1 ... lost to Bojana Murisic (DePaul) 6-0, 6-0 ... lost to Annemieke Elsholz (UAB) 6-1, 6-0 ... lost to Christina Wieser (Memphis) 6-1, 6-1 ... lost to Carolina Ardila (SMS) 6-2, 6-2 ... defeated Bridget Walczak (Western Illinois) 6-0, 6-2 ... lost to Kimmy Anderson (SEMO) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 at No. 5 singles ... lost to Yawna Allen (No. 61 Arkansas) 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6 singles ... defeated Amanda Beynonn (Oral Roberts) 6-3, 6-0.

Rachel McCullagh (Sugar Land, Texas/John Newcombe) finished 15-12 overall, 3-4 at No. 3 singles, 2-4 at No. 4 singles, 3-2 at No. 5 singles (8-10 overall) ... lost to Gabriela Duch (at C-USA vs. USF) 6-0, 6-0 ... lost to Teri Chan (Bradley) 4-6, 7-6 6-3 ... defeated Amy Inman (Detroit) 6-1, 6-3 ... defeated Georgia Beale (Spring Hill) 6-0, 6-0 ... defeated to Elena Bondari (Clayton State) 6-1, 6-1 ... lost to Pilar Cortes (West Florida) 6-0, 6-2 ... lost to Lindsay Bryan (No. 66 Ohio State) 6-0, 6-0 ... lost to Marie Caujolle (Indiana Sate) 6-3, 4-6 (11-9) ... lost to Brenda Leung (DePaul) 6-4, 6-2 ... lost to Samrin Tanzeem (UAB) 2-6, 7-5, 10-8 ... lost to Kristin Noble (Memphis) ... defeated Malie Gakovic (SMS) 7-5, 7-6 ... defeated Jessica Drake (Western Illinois) 6-0, 6-1 ... defeated Ashley Hooper (SEMO) (6-0, 6-1) at No. 3 singles ... lost to Carolyn Parent (Illinois State) 7-6 (10-8), 7-5 at No. 5 singles ... lost to Melissa Cornett (No. 61 Arkansas) 6-1, 6-1 ... defeated Jackie Richey (Wichita State) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 ... defeated Jacquelyn Robles (Oral Roberts) 6-0, 4-6, 10-4 ... defeated Jacquelyn Robles (Oral Roberts) 6-2, 6-2 ... lost to Timberly Greenly 6-2, 6-1.

Christina Gonzalez (Omaha, Neb./Marian) finished 2-3 overall at No. 6 singles after being sidelined with an injury in mid-February ... lost to Ashley Maxwell (Illinois State) 6-3, 6-1 ... lost to Anna Martorell (Wichita State) 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-5 ... defeated Deborah Skinstad 6-0, 6-0 ... lost to Agostina Santoro (No. 50 Tulsa) 7-5, 6-0.

DOUBLETAKE:

Lozanova/Grant finished 9-8 overall, 5-7 at spring No. 1 doubles but lost to Morris/Montrose (Bradley) 8-2 ... lost to Parashkevova/Csordas (DePaul) 8-2 ... lost to von Samson/Elsholz (UAB) 9-7 ... lost to Dirstorfer/Cowie (Memphis) 9-8 (3) ... lost to Garza/Stanojevic (SMS) 9-7 ... defeated A. Lenfert/D. Lutzke (Western Illinois) 8-2 ... defeated B. Kristal/D. Kristal (SEMO) 8-0 ... defeated Parke-Bedard/Maxwell (Illinois State) 8-5 ... lost to Pacheco/Ledaja (No. 61 Arkansas) 8-4 ... lost to Exeni/Webster (Wichita State) 9-8 (5) ... defeated Bailey/Arkel (Oral Roberts) 8-2 ... defeated Delport/Grimes (No. 50 Tulsa) 8-6 ... lost to Blanco/Palovic (Memphis Invite vs. SIUC) injury default ... defeated Freeman/Sasisharen (Billiken Fall Classic vs. Eastern Illinois) 8-6 ... defeated Comacho/Wirtz (Billiken Fall Classic vs. Eastern Illinois) 8-3 ... defeated Vogel/Bianchi (Billiken Fall Classic vs. Bradley) 8-2.

Hellberg/McCullagh finished 5-7 overall, 2-3 at No. 1 doubles, 3-4 at No. 2 doubles ... lost to Duch/Etienne (at C-USA vs. USF) 8-3 ... defeated Chan/Wood (Bradley) 8-3 ... defeated Smith/Savarino (Detroit) 8-4 ... defeated Malone/Murray (Spring Hill) 8-1 ... lost to Gandia/Chergova (Clayton State) 8-5 ... lost to Plikat/Cortes (West Florida) 8-2 ... lost to Ganeva/Rehusova (DePaul) 8-4 ... lost to Esen/Maier-Knapp (UAB) 8-4 ... lost to Feichtinger/Tijoe (Memphis) 9-7 ... Gakovic.Manzur (SMS) 8-4 ... defeated Forkin/Lutzke (Western Illinois) 8-1 ... defeated Garcia/Hooper (SEMO) 8-2.

Hellberg/Renda finished 4-1 at No. 2 doubles, after defeating Bingieer/Parent (Illinois State) 9-8 (7-1) ... lost to Cornett/Jovanovic 8-1 ... defeated Spink/Ripoll (Wichita State) 8-1 ... defeated Garcia/Sommer (Oral Roberts) 8-1 ... defeated Pereira/Santoro (No. 50 Tulsa), 8-5.

McCullagh/Grasso finished 4-6 overall at No. 3 doubles, after defeating Gravino/Simovic (Illinois State) 9-8 (7-4) ... lost to Pacheco/Morton (No. 61 Arkansas) 8-1 ... defeated Robles/Skinstad (Oral Roberts) 8-2 ... lost to Greenly/Zabaleta (No. 50 Tulsa), 8-1.

Grant/Grasso finished 2-4 at No. 2 doubles after losing to Feichtinger/Tjioe (at C-USA vs. Memphis) 8-4 ... lost to Cruz/Vernon (at C-USA vs. USF) 8-1 ... lost to Buter/Cummins (Detroit) 8-2 ... defeated Thames/Beale (Spring Hill) 9-7 ... defeated Bondari/Gutknecht (Clayton State) 8-2 ... lost to Olave/Oblitas (West Florida) 8-4.