April 10, 2004

Raleigh, N.C. - The University of Maryland women's tennis team defeated host NC State for its first Atlantic Coast Conference victory of the season, Saturday, at the W. Isenhour Tennis Complex. The Terrapins defeated the Wolfpack by claiming four wins in the singles line up, as well as the team doubles point. With the win the Terps improved to 7-11 overall and 1-6 in league play.

Maryland took the early lead with a dominating performance in doubles. Senior co-captain Emily Marker (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Ramona But (Timisoara, Romania) teamed up in the top doubles position to down the Pack's duo of Barbara Orlay and Kristin Lam.

Maryland made the lead official when Neda Mihneva (Sofia, Bulgaria) and Marianne Baker (Glenelg, Md.) won 8-1 over Jennifer Jassawalla and Agustina Arechevaleta. The No. 2 doubles match was stopped once Maryland claimed the point. However Maryland's Jennifer Dent (Safety Harbor, Fla.) and Chloe Chavardes (St. Nomblabreteche, France) were up 7-5 over Nandita Chandrasekar and Danielle Stadelmann when the match was halted.

Singles action put the Terps up for good, as Maryland claimed four of six singles matches on their way to its first conference victory of the season.

But, ranked No. 32 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, rolled to a straight set victory over the Wolfpack's Barbara Orlay, 6-1, 6-3. The 2003 All-ACC selection now has 13 singles victories on the year.

Maryland stumbled in two of the top three singles spots as Baker and Dent lost in the Nos. 2 and 3 positions. Baker split sets with the Pack's Kristin Lam, but was narrowly defeated in the tie-breaker. The Terp freshman took the first set 6-3, but could not hold off Lam who answered with a 6-4 win in the second.

Playing in the No. 3 position for Maryland, Dent had no answer for her opponent Nandita Chandrasekar. Dent was defeated in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.

The rest of singles action went the Terps way, with spots 4, 5 and 6 belonging to Maryland.

Marker faced off against Vania Apodaca in the No. 4 position. She easily defeated Apodaca, 6-1, 6-2. Like Marker, Senic breezed her way to a Terp singles victory. She defeated Jennifer Jassawalla 6-2, 6-2.

Mihneva played in her second-straight super-tie-break match in the No. 6 slot. After shutting out Agustina Arechevaleta 6-0 in the first set, the tally was evened when Arechevaleta won the second, 6-2. However Mihneva stopped her in her tracks when she posted a convincing 10-4 win in the tie-breaker.

Maryland will close out its regular season, Sunday, against Wake Forest. Match time between the Terps and Deacs is set for Noon at the Leighton Tennis Stadium.

Final Score
No. 56 Maryland 5, No. 71 NC State 2

Doubles
No. 1 But/Marker (Md.) def. Orlay/Lam, 8-3
No. 2 Dent/Chavardes (Md.) vs. Chandrasekar/ Stadelmann, 7-5, disc.
No. 3 Baker/Mihneva (Md.) def. Arechevaleta/Jassawalla, 8-1

Singles
No. 1 #32 Ramona But def. #61 Barbara Orlay, 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 Kristin Lam def. Marianne Baker, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8
No. 3 Nandita Chandrasekar def. Jennifer Dent, 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 #91 Emily Marker def. Vania Apodaca, 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Masha Senic def. Jennifer Jassawalla, 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 Neda Mihneva def. Agustina Arechevaleta, 6-0, 2-6, 10-4