George Washington University
George Mason
GW Women's Tennis Cruises Past George Mason
4/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The seventh-seeded George Washington women's tennis squad blanked 10th-seeded George Mason, 4-0, on Thursday evening in the first round of the 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship at the indoor Queen City Racquet Club.
Due to inclement weather, GW's match was moved indoors and pushed back several hours from the original start time. The contest began with singles play at 9 p.m.
Despite the increased wait time before the match, the Colonials prepared mentally for the contest throughout the day and got right to business on the courts.
"The team was really professional about [the wait] all day," said interim head coach Torrie Browning. "We did a team jog at about noon just to get the body going. We had an early dinner and they were on it from the beginning with their dynamic warmup and stretching, so they were very energized and pumped for the match. As coaches that always makes it easy for us."
The Colonials (7-13, 3-5 A-10) started strong, winning the first set on all six courts. Freshman Sara Grubac was the first to finish, grabbing a swift 6-4, 6-1 win at the No. 2 position to give GW a 1-0 lead.
"At that point we were just telling our players not to feel like they had to change their play to protect their lead. Just to keep playing the way they've been playing. If the opponent makes an adjustment then make an adjustment of your own, don't feel like you have to do more than what you have been doing."
Sophomore Teodora Radosavljevic won her match within minutes of Grubac, taking a 6-3, 6-4 triumph at the top flight. Classmate Marie-Louise Decamps remained focused in her 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 3, overcoming a 4-1 deficit in the second set to come back and put the Buff and Blue within one of winning the match.
Senior Egle Jakuciunaite clinched the win for the Colonials, continuing the momentum with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the No. 6 position.
With the triumph, the Colonials advance to the quarterfinal round to face second-seeded Massachusetts at 1:30 p.m. at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
"The mindset for tomorrow is that there is no pressure on us, and that we should go out there and play freely," said Coach Browning. "I think it'll be a good match. UMass is a good team, they're a tough team, but we just have to go out there with the mindset that we can compete with them and keep playing how we normally play. We've played tough teams like them all season, so we'll hopefully click at the right time."
George Washington 4, George Mason 0
Singles
1. Teodora Radosavljevic (GW) def. Brittany Pilkington (MASON), 6-3, 6-4
2. Sara Grubac (GW) def. Sydney Green (MASON), 6-4, 6-1
3. Marie-Louise Decamps (GW) def. Morgan Yang (MASON), 6-1, 6-4
4. Taylor Nederlander (GW) vs. Esu Erdenebat (MASON) 6-3, 4-3, DNF
5. Allison Hansen (GW) vs. Olivia Lacy-Thompson (MASON) 6-3, 3-0, DNF
6. Egle Jakuciunaite (GW) def. Scarlett Walston (MASON) 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 6
Players Mentioned
