April 8, 2009

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate women's tennis team fell short in its quest to repeat as Atlantic Sun Conference regular season champions, as East Tennessee State University won all three doubles matches and grabbed the momentum to carry itself to a 5-2 win in conference action at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex on Wednesday afternoon.

The Spartans finished their second season of Division I play with a 13-4 overall record and in third place in the Atlantic Sun Conference with an 8-2 overall mark. ETSU clinched a share of the regular season crown with Stetson, having posted an 11-6 overall mark and an 8-1 conference mark.

After the doubles point, ETSU won matches at No. 4 and No. 2 to take a 3-0 lead, but freshman Cinthya Lazaro cut into the lead with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles over Vita Moskaliova. A loss at No. 1 to 123rd-ranked Yevgeniya Stupak clinched the match for the Lady Bucs and the Bucs also got a win at No. 3 in a super-set tiebreaker before freshman Ana-Sofia Camberos posted a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 over Tara Sheets to wrap up the match.

Upstate is not eligible for postseason play during its transition period to Division I, which the Spartans are now halfway through. In two years at the Division I level, Upstate has posted a 30-7 overall record and a 19-2 record in the A-Sun. ETSU will now enter the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed, as Stetson will be the No. 1.