Women's Tennis Looks Ahead to Weekend Challenges in Syracuse
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
February 9, 1999
POTOMAC, Md. - The women's tennis team opened its 1999 dual season with an explosion on Feb. 7, defeating the Georgetown Hoyas, 9-0, in Potomac, Md. Senior Meg Griffin (Topeka, Kan.) and juniors Lorraine Bittles (Nashville, Tenn.) and Stacy Walkowitz (Coral Springs, Fla.) were victorious for the Terps in the top three spots on the ladder respectively. Griffin and Bittles also came out on top in doubles, 8-0. Walkowitz, sophomore Chrissie Terrill (Plano, Tex.), senior Adrienne Pavelko (Vienna, Va.) and freshman Courtney Perkins (Seattle, Wash.) were each winners in both singles and doubles matches on the afternoon. Overall, Maryland won the singles matches by a combined score of 72-9 and doubles 24-2.
BITTLES AND GRIFFIN FALL TO NO. 1 DOUBLES TEAM AT NATIONAL INDOORS
Griffin and Bittles became the first Terps to qualify for the National Indoor Championships, but they were given the unenviable task of facing the nation's No. 1 doubles team in the first round. All-ACC selections last season, Bittles and Griffin (No. 16, ITA), lost to Vanessa Castellano and Marissa Catlin of the University of Georgia, 6-1, 6-1. The Bulldog pair went on to win the doubles title at the prestigious tournament.
TERPS MAKE THEIR MARK IN PRESEASON POLLS
Griffin and Bittles are receiving national attention this spring after each had an impressive season last year. Both were members of the All-ACC team and they qualified for the NCAA tournament as a doubles team. Coming into the 1999 spring season, Griffin is ranked No. 88 and No. 9 (see box) along with Bittles in doubles. They have both qualified for each of the ITA Grand Slam tournaments.
MARYLAND COACH JIM LAITTA
In his ninth season, Jim Laitta 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 1-0 8-7
L. Bittles 7-8 1-0 7-8
S. Walkowitz 5-4 1-0 5-4
C. Terrill 7-6 1-0 7-6
T. Ivanisevic 0-0 0-0
A. Pavelko 4-7 1-0 4-7
C. Perkins 4-4 1-0 4-4
K. Curic 3-4 3-4
Name Fall Spring No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 Overall
M. Griffin/L. Bittles 7-6 1-0 8-6
S. Walkowitz/C. Terrill 4-5 1-0 5-5
A. Pavelko/K. Curic 2-2 2-2
A. Pavelko/C. Perkins 1-0 1-0
Team #5 (TBA)
Preseason ITA Doubles Rankings
1. Goldstein/Webb, Duke
T2. Augustus/Jensen, Calif.
T2. Castellano/Catlin, Georgia
4. Chapman/Muzamel, Miss.
5. Nedelkova/Ondrisova, VCU
6. Brown/Emami, Kentucky
7. Fernandez/Penalvo, Marq.
8. Hart/Lund, Michigan
9. Bittles/Griffin, Maryland
10. Nickitas/Lehnoff, Florida
