Bills Draw Fordham in A-10 First Round
April 17, 2008
THIS WEEK - Saint Louis women's tennis will compete in the Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be played April 18-20 at Club 4 Life in the Pittsburgh suburb of Monroeville, Pa. The Billikens (11-10) drew the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 Fordham (5-9) in the first round on Friday, April 18, at 7 a.m. (CT). The winner advances to play No. 1 Massachusetts (11-10) in the championship quarterfinals on Friday at 2:30 p.m. (CT), while the loser drops to the consolation bracket to play one more match. OTHER FIRST-ROUND PAIRINGS - In addition to the Saint Louis-Fordham tilt, five other first-round matches are scheduled for Friday. No. 7 Charlotte and No. 10 George Washington will meet, with the winner taking on No. 2 Temple in the championship quarterfinals. No. 3 Richmond faces No. 14 La Salle and No. 6 Rhode Island takes on No. 11 Dayton, with the winners clashing in the quarterfinals. Also, No. 4 Duquesne tests No. 13 Saint Joseph's, with the victor advancing to the quarterfinals to face the winner of the match between No. 5 Xavier and No. 12 St. Bonaventure. LAST SEASON - Saint Louis tied for seventh at the 2007 A-10 Championship after entering the tournament as the No. 7 seed. The Billikens defeated No. 10 Dayton 4-1, lost to No. 2 Richmond 4-0 and fell to No. 6 Duquesne 4-1. Richmond captured the title, blanking Temple 4-0 in the championship match. DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE - For the second time in their history, the Billikens have posted a double-digit win total in three consecutive seasons. Saint Louis enjoyed a double-digit victory count in four straight years (1994-97) prior to its current streak covering the 2006-08 seasons. LINING 'EM UP, PUTTING 'EM DOWN - The Billikens won six consecutive matches earlier this season, tying three other SLU women's tennis teams for the fourth-longest winning streak in program history. The 1996-97 team won a school-record 10 in a row, followed by the 2005-06 squad that assembled a nine-match streak. Eight-match streaks were achieved by the 2000-01 and 1994-95 teams.
AND A FRESHMAN SHALL LEAD THEM - Freshman Hailee Elmore (Springfield, Ill./Springfield) leads the Billikens in singles victories (18), singles winning percentage (18-6, .750), doubles victories (15) and doubles winning percentage (15-4, .789). Elmore and junior Joe Becker (Frankfurt, Germany/Ziehen School) own a team-best 13-3 doubles mark, including 7-0 at No. 2, while senior Amanda Hellberg (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) and freshman Casey Miller (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's) are 9-6 at No. 1 doubles. BILLS' BEST PICKS ARE 2 AND 6 - In singles play, the No. 2 and No. 6 positions have been the Billikens' most productive spots this season. Led by Hailee Elmore's 11-1 ledger, Saint Louis has produced a 13-8 record at No. 2. Senior Rachel McCullagh (Sugar Land, Texas/John Newcombe) has turned in a 7-2 mark at No. 6 to lead the Bills to a 13-7 slate. Also, Joe Becker and senior Tara Grant (Austin, Texas/St. Stephen's) have produced 6-3 records at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS - Three current players have reached the top 10 in singles and/or doubles on SLU's all-time career victories lists. Amanda Hellberg is tied for third in doubles wins (54) and ranks fifth in singles wins (68), while Rachel McCullagh has moved into a tie for seventh in singles triumphs (60) and a tie for 10th in doubles victories (44). Tara Grant stands fifth in doubles victories (52). Claiming places in the top 20 on the career charts are Joe Becker in doubles (16th, 29 wins) and singles (18th, 35 wins) and Grant in singles (14th, 46 wins). |
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