Southern Illinois University
Saint Louis
Women's Tennis sweeps SLU, 4-0
04/11/2008 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
April 11, 2008
By Beth Miller
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's tennis team welcomed Saint Louis University Friday at Sports Blast. The Salukis swept the Billikins 4-0. Due to wind conditions, the match was played indoors at Sports Blast, where fewer courts resulted in the match being played to only four points.
SIU (9-8, 2-1 MVC) gained an early lead, taking two of three doubles matches from the Billikins (10-10). Andrea Courtney and Amanda Taillefer won No. 3 doubles against Rachel McCullagh and Caitlin Bokulic, 8-5. Jessica Flannery and Sabine Tsala Mvilongo captured the doubles point with an 8-5 win over Amanda Hellberg and Casey Miller at the top seed. Michela Cruise and Martina Vianna Cé dropped the match at No. 2 doubles, 8-5, against Hailee Elmore and Joe Becker. The Salukis secured the doubles point, giving them a 1-0 lead heading into singles.
Cruise grabbed the victory over Miller at No. 3 doubles, 6-3, 6-2, giving the Salukis a 2-0 lead. At No. 2 singles, Cé was down 0-3 in the first set against Hellberg, but came back to win 6-4. Cé won the second set, 6-2, to put the Salukis up 3-0. Tsala battled a tough match against SLU's No. 1 player, Elmore, dropping the first set 2-6. Tsala fought back, winning the second set in the tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5). The two battled for the win in the third set, with Tsala grabbing the victory, 10-8, giving the Salukis the 4-0 win.
"This was a huge win, since we lost to Saint Louis last time, 4-3," said head coach Audra Nothwehr. "We knew it was going to come down to each match, I told the girls we have to be aggressive. They did it in doubles and that was a huge motivator taking us into singles. Ending this match on a positive note is really going to take this momentum into tomorrow."
The Salukis will be back in action Saturday as they host the Panthers of Northern Iowa. Match time is set for 1 p.m. at Sports Blast.
Southern Illinois 4, Saint Louis 0
Singles
No. 1 - Sabine Tsala Mvilongo (SIU) def. Hailee Elmore (SLU) 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 10-8
No. 2 - Martina Vianna Cé (SIU) def. Amanda Hellberg 6-4, 6-2 (SLU)
No. 3 - Michela Cruise (SIU) def. Casey Miller (SLU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 - Jessica Flannery (SIU) vs. Joe Becker (SLU) DNF
No. 5 - Amanda Taillefer (SIU) vs. Rachel McCullagh (SLU) DNF
No. 6 - Andrea Courtney (SIU) vs. Caitlin McKenna (SLU) DNP
Doubles
No. 1 - Tsala/Flannery (SIU) def. Hellberg/Miller (SLU) 8-5
No. 2 - Elmore/Becker (SLU) def. Cruise/Cé (SIU) 8-5
No. 3 - Taillefer/Courtney (SIU) def. McCullagh/Bokulic (SLU) 8-2
Southern Illinois 9-8, 2-1 MVC
Saint Louis 10-10
Players Mentioned
