A-10 Tournament Preview: Women's Tennis Vies For Sixth Title
04/15/2009 | Women's Tennis
April 15, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. -
The women's tennis team enters the 26th annual Atlantic 10 Women's Tennis Championships this weekend as the No. 1 seed. Richmond will face the winner of the Saint Louis/George Washington Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Richmond enters the tournament with a conference-best 14-5 mark, and is looking for its fifth title in last six seasons. Richmond won consecutive titles from 2004-2007, and captured its first title in 2002. The Spiders are a combined 21-0 in matches versus Atlantic 10 opponents.
Richmond is led by senior Pamela Duran who plays at the No. 1 spot with an overall 11-5 mark in singles play. Duran is a three-time All-Conference selection and was named the Most Outstanding Performer at the 2007 Championship. Duran, a team captain, also played in the NCAA singles tournament in 2007.
"The team worked hard this season to earn the top seed," said head coach Mark Wesselink. "That means everyone is gunning for us but this group wants the pressure. Most of the players were on last year's team and still remember how it felt not to win. I'm guessing they will be very motivated. Throughout the year we have reminded each other of our goals, A-10 Championships and NCAA's."
Saturday's semifinal matches begin at 10:30 a.m. with the finals set for Sunday at 10:30 a.m.