Women's Tennis Heads into ACC Tourney with High Hopes
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 19, 1999
NEXT TERPS MEET - ACC Championships
Fri., April 22 at 6 p.m.
NCAA Championships
Regionals - May 14-16
Finals - May 20-26
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Fifth-seeded Maryland will take on the University of North Carolina in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Friday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga. The Tar Heels, who are currently ranked No. 27 nationally, edged the Terps in Chapell Hill on April 10. Against Virginia on the following afternoon, UNC head coach Rowland Thornqvist was forced to sit three starters, Jeni Burnette, Cena Hackler and Courtney Zalinski, due to injuries. Their status is still questionable.
WALKOWITZ CONTINUES SOUND SINGLES PLAY WITH TWO VICTORIES
No. 19 Wake Forest put on a flawless performance on Sunday afternoon, but they still could not contain Stacy Walkowitz (Coral Springs, Fla.). Walkowitz, who was the only winner for Maryland, improved to 18-10 overall this year--including a dazzling 13-3 doubles record with Chrissie Terrill (Plano, Tex.) this spring. Maryland looked as if it would give the Demon Deacons a tough match in the beginning as half of the singles matches were benefiting each team. At No. 1, Meg Griffin (Topeka, Kan.), who was playing her final home match of her career, tied up the No. 10 player in the nation, Mariel Verban, after two sets, but Verban pulled out a 6-3 decision in the third. Wake also won the No. 3 through No. 6 positions.
GRIFFIN DEMONSTRATES SENIOR EXPERIENCE LIFTING TERPS OVER WOLF PACK
Meg Griffin won at both No. 1 singles and doubles to give the Terps a 5-4 edge over North Carolina State at the Cole Field House Tennis Courts. Griffin defeated Nena Bonacic in straight sets and then teamed with partner Lorraine Bittles (Nashville, Tenn.) to dominate the Wolfpack tandem of Brie Glover and Francie Barragan, 8-2. The victory clinched the match, giving Maryland a 5-2 lead heading into the final two doubles pairings. At. No. 2, Bittles used all three sets to come from behind to top State's Marissa Gildemeister, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Stacy Walkowitz defeated Glover in two sets at No. 4 and freshman Courtney Perkins (Seattle, Wash.) won at No. 6 for her team-leading 13th win.
MARYLAND COACH JIM LAITTA
In his ninth season, Jim Laitta (Eastern Kentucky 89) has taken what once was an underfunded program onto the national tennis scene. He has led the Terps to the schools first two NCAA appearances as well as finishes in the top half of the conference for the past few years. In 1996, he was named both ACC and NCAA Region I Coach of the Year by his peers. Before Maryland, he was the head womens coach at Mississippi State University. While there, the program finished in the national Top 20 and captured an NCAA doubles championship. Laitta played collegiately at Eastern Kentucky University where he was team captain and played No. 1 singles and doubles.
1998-99 MARYLAND RECORDS
ALL MATCHES ACC MATCHES
Name Fall Spr. No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 Overall
M. Griffin 8-7 12-7 3-5 20-14
L. Bittles 7-8 9-6 1-2 0-1 3-4 0-1 17-17
S. Walkowitz 5-4 3-2 10-4 0-1 4-3 18-10
C. Terrill 7-6 0-1 10-7 1-6 17-14
T. Ivanisevic 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1
A. Pavelko 4-7 5-12 0-2 1-6 0-1 9-21
C. Perkins 4-4 0-2 13-4 0-1 4-3 16-9
Name Fall Spr. No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 Overall
M. Griffin/L. Bittles 7-6 12-4 3-4 19-10
S. Walkowitz/C. Terrill 4-5 13-3 5-2 17-8
A. Pavelko/C. Perkins 0-0 10-7 3-4 9-6
M. Griffin/C. Terrill 0-0 0-1 0-1
