Friday, March 3, was a cold day for the start of spring break. With flurries falling in Johnson City the ETSU women’s tennis team braved the cold and took on Atlantic Sun foe Campbell University.
Olya Batsula and Tara Byrne teamed up for the Lady bBucs and played the No. 1 doubles slot against Campbell. The ETSU combo used finesse to gain a comfortable lead. They defeated Scarlet Alfonzo and Nina Suriladze 8-2.
The win sealed the doubles point for ETSU as Sylwia Ziolkowska and Vita Moskaliova made quick work of their doubles match and won in the No. 3 position 8-1.
Masha Ilina and Sandie Knight were still in the thick of a competitive conference collision when the overall point for doubles was secured. The duo would not be denied an opportunity to finish their game and went on to win 8-6.
Ziolkowska stayed hot in her singles match finishing with a win 7-5, 6-3.
The senior, from Warsaw, Poland, kept Campbell’s Anita Dajc busy. Ziolkowska forced her opponent to chase the ball along the baseline and made it difficult for Dajc to return fire.
Ilina used a great mix of short shots coupled with her powerful backhand to outlast Scarlet Alfonzo 6-1, 6-4. Both competitors had power, but it was Ilina’s slice shot that aced the match for ETSU.
The ball flew smoking off of Tara Byrne’s racket when she served. She used great vision to cut the court off and defeat Liza Bensimon 6-4, 6-1.
Batsula won in similar fashion. Batsula aggressively pounded the ball over the net against a strong Iva Stojancev. Batsula, after a hard-fought first set, cruised to victory in the second 6-4, 6-0.
The Lady Bucs have been practicing their backhand from the baseline and it paid off in several matches against Campbell.
However the athlete’s that didn’t venture to the net as much had more difficulty securing a win.
Campbell’s Tarya Ahuja took ETSU’s Vita Moskaliova into a third set in singles play. Moskaliova fired first and won the first set. Ahuja did not fold and won the second.
The cold temperature coupled with the length of the match was causing some fatigue in the third set. Moskaliova toughed it out and got the victory 6-1,1-6, 6-4.
Sandie Knight’s singles match lasted the longest. She and Nina Surviladze went into a tie break situation. The Lady Bucs who had finished their games huddled around the court to encourage Knight.
The extra support lifted Knight in the tiebreaker to seal the deal 5-7, 6-2, (5).
ETSU defeated Campbell 7-0.

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