Marshall University Team Page
The Thundering Herd finishes its regular season at home Saturday
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Marshall University women’s tennis team’s senior pair of Kellie Schmitt (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Karolina Soor (Lindesburg, Sweden) upset the No. 56 ranked team of Jessica Brouwer and Holly Johnson in the 4-3 loss to Virginia Tech, Wednesday evening, at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.
“We did a great job in the doubles matches,” Marshall’s head coach John Mercer said. “In singles play, it came down to close points and we just couldn’t finish. We have had trouble pushing through those points this season.”
The No. 64 Thundering Herd fell to 11-10 overall, while the Hokies improved to 11-10 on the season. Virginia Tech’s victory ended the Herd’s four-match winning streak and the Hokies six-match losing streak.
The Hokies started doubles play with an 8-3 victory at the No. 2 position. The Herd’s pair of
Jessica Keener (Reston, Va.) and Deanna Bailey (McDonough, Ga.) fell to Martha Blakely and Inga Beermann.
Schmitt and Soor took an 8-5 victory over the ranked pair of Brouwer and Johnson at the No. 1 position. With the doubles victory, Schmitt has improved her doubles record so far this season to 14-6, which places her two victories away from becoming the Herd’s top career doubles player.
The Herd’s duo of Thaddea Lock (Bristol, England) and Catherine Kellner (Smithtown, N.Y.) secured the doubles point with a 9-7 decision over Yasmin Hamza and Abbey Walker at the No. 3 mark.
Leading into singles action, Marshall had a 1-0 lead, but Virginia Tech would win four-straight singles matches to secure the victory.
The Herd’s Isabell Raich (Klaus, Austria) fell to Brouwer, 6-3, 6-0, at the No. 2 slot. Rauscher then defeated Bailey 7-5, 7-6 at the No. 5 position.
Virginia Tech’s Johnson took a 7-5, 6-2 decision over Kellner at the No. 6 mark. Playing the No. 3 position, Soor fell to Blakely, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, in the clinching point for the Hokies.
Schmitt, ranked 76th, took a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 decision over Beerman at the No. 1 position. With the victory, Schmitt improved her winning streak to five straight matches.
To close the match, Keener ended her five-match losing streak with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Hamza at the No. 4 slot.
“We will work hard in practice to fix our errors,” Coach Mercer added. “We will hopefully put all the pieces together for the end of the regular season and into the conference tournament.”
The Herd will finish its regular season when it hosts the University of Louisville at 11 a.m. and the University of Pittsburgh at 4 p.m., Saturday, April 11, with both matches played at the Brian David Fox Tennis Center, weather permitting.
Prior to Saturday’s matches, the Herd’s three seniors—Keener, Schmitt, and Soor—will be recognized for their career accomplishments at Marshall.
The Herd is 3-4 at home, 7-5 away, and 1-1 at neutral sites so far this season.
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Tennis Match Results
Marshall vs Virginia Tech
4/8/2009 at Blacksburg, Va.
#62 Virginia Tech 4, #71 Marshall 3
Singles competition
1. #76 Kellie Schmitt (MAR) def. Inga Beermann (VTW) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. Jessica Brouwer (VTW) def. Isabell Raich (MAR) 6-3, 6-0
3. Martha Blakely (VTW) def. Karolina Soor (MAR) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
4. Jessica Keener (MAR) def. Yasmin Hamza (VTW) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Courtney Rauscher (VTW) def. Deanna Bailey (MAR) 7-5, 7-6
6. Holly Johnson (VTW) def. Catherine Kellner (MAR) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Kellie Schmitt/Karolina Soor (MAR) def. #56 Jessica Brouwer/Holly Johnson (VTW) 8-5
2. Martha Blakely/Inga Beermann (VTW) def. Jessica Keener/Deanna Bailey (MAR) 8-3
3. Thaddea Lock/Catherine Kellner (MAR) def. Yasmin Hamza/Abbey Walker (VTW) 9-7
Match Notes:
Marshall 11-10; National ranking #71
Virginia Tech 11-10; National ranking #62
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,5,6,3,1,4)
