Terps Hit Both Coasts for Spring Break Matches
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 15, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The women's tennis team won't be vacationing like other Maryland students next week. Despite traveling to warm climates, they will be hard at work competing against No. 35 Florida State and No. 13 Arizona State in two of the biggest matches of the season. While the Seminoles and Sun Devils might be very difficult challenges on the court, the Terps greatest foe might be fighting jet lag, as the three-legs of the trip will total over five thousand miles.
NO. 23 JAYHAWKS RUIN GRIFFIN'S HOMECOMING
It was almost a perfect homecoming party for senior Meg Griffin (Topeka, Kan.)--except that Maryland fell short, losing to No. 23 Kansas, 5-4, at Wood Valley Racquet Club. Individually, in her return to the city where she was a high school state champion at Topeka West, Griffin stopped Kris Sell, the No. 15 player in the nation, in two sets.
She improved to 8-1 on the season and also teamed up with doubles partner Lorraine Bittles (Nashville, Tenn.) to remain undefeated on the season at 8-0. They topped the No. 33 ranked team in the nation of Sell and Cheryl Mallaiah.
Sophomore Chrissie Terrill (Plano, Tex.) lost her first singles match of the season after a string of eight consecutive victories. She and Stacy Walkowitz (Coral Springs, Fla.) dropped their first doubles loss of the spring season after Terrill pulled out with a sprained ankle.
Walkowitz and freshman Courtney Perkins (Seattle, Wash.), who are both tied for the team-high of eights wins with Griffin and Terrill, were the other Terrapin singles winners on the afternoon.
MARYLAND, WALKOWITZ PERFECT IN WIN OVER MISSOURI
For the third consecutive match, Maryland was perfect as they defeated Missouri, 9-0. Sophomore Chrissie Terrill remained undefeated with her eighth win of the season, topping Joni Jordan, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 4 spot. Terrill, partner Stacy Walkowitz and the team of Meg Griffin and Lorraine Bittles are all undefeated in doubles with 7-0 marks. The performance of the match came from junior Stacy Walkowitz who became the second Terp of the 1999 season to post a perfect game, as she shutout the Tigers' Andrea Friedman in both sets.
MARYLAND COACH JIM LAITTA
In his ninth season, Jim Laitta (Eastern Kentucky e89) has taken what once was an underfunded program onto the national tennis scene. He has led the Terps to the school's 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 women's 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 8-1 16-8 L. Bittles 7-8 5-2 1-1 13-11 S. Walkowitz 5-4 3-0 5-1 13-5 C. Terrill 7-6 8-1 15-7 A. Pavelko 4-7 4-5 8-12 C. Perkins 4-4 8-1 12-5Name Fall Spring No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 Overall M. Griffin/L. Bittles 7-6 8-0 15-6 S. Walkowitz/C. Terrill 4-5 7-1 11-6 A. Pavelko/C. Perkins 6-2 6-2
PERFECT PERFORMANCES (6-0, 6-0 wins)
Terrill on Feb. 7
Caroline Marshall (Georgetown)
Perkins on Feb. 7
Ayana Brooks (Georgetown)
Pavelko on March 3
Megan Goldsmith (G. Washington)
Walkowitz on March 13
Andrea Friedman (Missouri)
