Box Score

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The KSU women's tennis team picked up their biggest win in school history on Saturday as they rallied from behind against Atlantic Sun powerhouse, ETSU, 4-3.  The Owls erased a 1-3 deficit with three straight victories at positions 2 through 4 to pull off the upset.

In the doubles, the Owls got off to strong starts at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, but ETSU raced to an 8-0 win at No. 2 to put the pressure on the Owls left on court, three of whom were freshmen.  The first duo to pull out a win for the Owls were the all-freshmen duo of Jana Hueckinghaus and Tamara Plocher, who defeated their ETSU foes, 8-6.  At No. 1, the Owl pair of Alexandra Apostu and Virginie Stein were locked in a tight battle Marine Wieliczko and Paula Jaime, with both teams entering the match with perfect Atlantic Sun Conference records at the top spot.  Apostu and Stein pulled away from the all-senior duo to give the doubles point to the Owls, 8-6.  Their A-Sun record is now a perfect 7-0, all at the No. 1 spot.

"Taking the doubles point was huge today," commented Owl Head Coach Jeff Kutac.  "This was a great team effort and a great team win."

In the singles, it looked as though the Bucs would turn the tables on the Owls for the second straight year, having stormed back for a 5-2 win in 2011 after dropping the doubles point against the Owls.  The Bucs quickly ran out to a 3-1 lead after straight set wins at No. 1, 5, and 6.  However, the Owls refused to give up, and wins by Apostu at the No. 2 spot, and a three-set win for Stein over Wieliczko, put the Owls back even, with Hueckinghaus locked in a battle with 2011 Atlantic Sun All-Conference performer and senior, Karina Kedzo.  Hueckinghaus won the first set in a tiebreaker before Kedzo rebounded for a tiebreak win of her own, pushing the match to a deciding set.  In the finale, Hueckinghaus overpowered Kedzo and dashed Kedzo's comeback attempt, winning 7-6(2), 6-7(3), 6-0.  It was Hueckinghaus' 7th straight victory.

"I am so glad to have been able to clinch the match today," said a beaming Hueckinghaus.  "I am so proud of the other girls, and it was an awesome victory for the team today."

With the victory, the Owls (13-6, 5-2 A-Sun) move into third place in the Atlantic Sun standings, one-half game behind the Bucs (9-8, 6-2 A-Sun).  The loss for the Bucs was their first home loss since the 2008-09 season, which came against Winthrop University.  It was the first home conference loss for the Bucs since April 9, 2008 against USC Upstate.

"Going down in the team match 1-3 put us in a difficult situation today," continued Coach Kutac, "but our girls responded, stepped up, and got the job done today.  Go Owls!"

The Owls will look to keep their momentum next week, as they face off with first place North Florida at home on Friday.  The weekend will also see the Owls wrap up their regular season against Jacksonville University on Saturday, in the final home match for senior Vera Shkundina.