March 27, 2007

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Tech women's tennis team knocked off Marshall, 6-1, Tuesday, at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Va. The Hokies improve to 10-8 on the season, while the Thundering Herd falls to 12-9.

Tech, ranked No. 69 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), swept all three doubles matches to take the lead, 1-0, over the the No. 72 Herd.

The Hokies went on to win five of the six singles matches. In the No. 3 and No. 4 matches, Ashley James (Sr., Williamsburg, Va.) and J.J. Larson (Jr., Orchard Park, N.Y.) matched up with Marshall's Lynzee Kever and Yulia Kashelkina. James earned the first single point with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Kever, while Larson made it two, defeating Kashelkina 6-1, 6-1. Inga Beermann (So., Bad Salzuflen, Germany) gave the Hokies a key win, and the clinching point, with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 57 Kellie Schmitt in the No. 1 spot.

Natalie Kretzer (So., Chesterfield, Va.) took a fifth point in the tight No. 6 match against Jeannie Schwartz. Kretzer fell 2-6 in the first set, but battled to a 6-1, 6-0 finish for the mark. Jessica Long (Jr., Elizabethtown, Pa.) earned Tech's final point, edging Karolina Soor 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. The Hokies only fell in the No. 5 match, with Marshall's Jessica Keener sliding by Abbey Walker (So., Lancaster, S.C.) 6-0, 6-1.

In doubles action, Jessica Brouwer (So., Maarssen, Netherlands)/Walker won the first doubles match, 8-3, against Kever/Kashelkina. A. James/Long duked it out with Keener/Schwartz, with Tech taking the clinching point 8-3. Beerman/Larson, playing in the No. 1 spot, gave the Hokies the doubles sweep with an 9-8 game against Schmitt/Soor.

Tech now heads on a two-game road trip to Florida. The Hokies take on the Miami Hurricanes March 30 at 3 p.m., in Coral Gables, Fla. The following day, Tech matches up against Florida State at noon in Tallahassee.

No. 69 Virginia  Tech 6, No. 72 Marshall 1

Singles

1. Inga Beermann (VT) def. #57 Kellie Schmitt (UM) 	6-4, 6-3

2. Jessica Long (VT) def. Karolina Soor (UM)    	2-6, 6-1, 6-2

3. Ashley James (VT) def. Lynzee Kever (UM)     	6-0, 6-1

4. J.J. Larson (VT) def. Yulia Kashelkina (UM)  	6-1, 6-1

5. Jessica Keener (UM) def. Abbey Walker (VT)   	6-4, 7-5

6. Natalie Kretzer (VT) def. Jeannie Schwartz (UM) 	2-6, 6-1, 6-0

 

Doubles

1. Beermann/Larson (VT) def. Schmitt/Soor (UM)  	9-8

2. Brouwer/Walker (VT) def. Kever/Kashelkina (UM) 	8-3

3. A. James/Long (VT) def. Keener/Schwartz (UM) 	8-3