Led by senior Yevgenyia Stupak, the ETSU women’s tennis team swept both the singles and doubles titles Sunday at the Cissie Leary Invitational at the Lott Tennis Center on the campus of Penn University in Philadelphia.After going unbeaten the entire weekend, Stupak – the tournament’s top seed and No. 98-ranked Intercollegiate Tennis Association player – cruised in her semifinal contest with a strong 6-4, 6-1 performance over Vicki Brooke of Yale. With her first victory of the day, the Lady Buc captain took on one of the top incoming freshman in the entire nation, Nichole Bartnick of Columbia, in the finals.

Bartnick – who is ranked No. 92 in the world in juniors and No. 801 in the Women’s Tennis Association’s Professional Tour – dropped the first set to the reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year 6-1. After Stupak made quick work in the opening frame, both Bartnick and the Kyiv, Ukraine native battled to four deuce games in the second set, before the ETSU senior took charge with a 6-1 victory for the title.

“I was real proud of Yevgenyia this weekend,” said head coach Steve Brooks. “She faced some tough competition this weekend. Overall, the style of tennis she had to go against these three days helped prepare for some future events we have later this fall.”

After winning the singles title Stupak, along with junior teammate Kelly Holtzhausen, continued their hot play, winning ETSU’s semifinal doubles contest against sophomore Jennifer Rabot and senior Michelle Sammons of Purdue, 8-6.

In the finals, the ETSU duo wouldn’t be denied as Stupak and Holtzhausen battled for an 8-5 championship victory over the Yale team of sophomore Vicki Brook and senior Sarah Lederhandler.

“This was two really good wins for both girls today,” Brooks said. “Kelly has done a great job transitioning to our style of play. She has really came along well the last couple of weeks. This tournament showed me the progress she has made falling into our system.”

Overall, the Lady Buc duo defeated the No. 1 doubles teams of Yale, Purdue and Penn during the three-day event.

The Lady Bucs hope to keep the wins coming this Friday as they visit Blacksburg, Va., for the Virginia Tech Invitational.

Author