Great South Athletic Conference

e R

For Immediate Release
May 4 , 2007

Huntingdon women get first-ever NCAA win at tennis regional

SEWANEE, Tenn. --- The Huntingdon women's tennis team won the first NCAA Division III Tournament match in school history with a 5-2 victory over Meredith College in the opening-round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship on Friday afternoon.

With the victory, the Lady Hawks improve to 13-5 on the season, while the Angels’ season ends at 14-4.

“I am very proud of our girls for making it this far into the NCAA Tournament,” head coach Ximena Moore said. “We have exceeded our goals and expectations for the year, which makes me even happier for these young ladies. I cannot say enough about the support that we have from our administration, especially Buzz Phillips, who made the trip to Sewanee to watch us play. Right now our team mentality is to win every match and continue our season for as long as we can.”

Lifting the Lady Hawks to victory was the relentless play of freshman Hannah Lee Dickinson. Trailing 4-0 in the opening set at the No. 6 position, Dickinson rallied back to take the next five games and take a 5-4 lead. After falling in the next two games, the Sylacauga, Ala., native forced a tie-break set and cruised to a 7-3 tie-break victory to take the first set before winning 6-1 in the final set.

“I just did not want to lose,” Dickinson said. “I knew we would need another win and did everything I could to fight back. I had to change my game and hit more slice shots, more overhand shots and more lobs and started coming back, so I just kept doing what was working.”

The Lady Hawks trailed early in the match when the regionally-ranked duo of freshman Riley Prescott and Nicole Weldon fell at the No. 2 doubles position, 8-6, to Morgan Martin and Amanda Bitler.

However, Huntingdon stormed back to take the final two doubles matches, as juniors Brandy Milstead and Amanda Thomley took to match at the No. 1 spot, 8-4, and freshman Amanda Stacks and junior Katie West rolled at the No. 3 spot by a similar 8-4 score.

In singles action, Prescott put the Lady Hawks up 3-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Kathryn Maples at the No. 2 singles position.

The Angels refused to give in, putting up an identical 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 4 spot, as Stacks fell to Martin.

Milstead put the victory within sight and set up the dramatic Dickinson victory with a straight-set victory at the No. 1 position over Meredith Roberson, 6-3, 6-1.

According to NCAA rules, the match was scheduled to be played to completion. However, due to rainy conditions in the area, the match was called.

“This is a great win for our women’s tennis team and our entire athletic department,” director of athletics Buzz Phillips said. “I am really proud of the effort, and hopefully this will be the beginning of good things to come.”

The Lady Hawks will return to the courts on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they face Emory.

COMPLETE RESULTS
Doubles Results
No. 1 - Brandy Milstead/Amanda Thomley (HC) def. Meredith Roberson/Kathryn Maples (MC), 8-4 No. 2 - Amanda Bitler/Morgan Martin (MC) def. Riley Prescott/Nicole Weldon (HC), 8-6 No. 3 - Amanda Stacks/Katie West (HC) def. Sydney Williford/Caitlin Dillon (MC), 8-4 Singles Results No. 1 - Brandy Milstead (HC) def. Meredith Roberson (MC), 6-3, 6-1 No. 2 - Riley Prescott (HC) def. Kathryn Maples (MC), 6-2, 6-2 No. 3 - Amanda Thomley (HC) vs. Sydney Williford (MC), DNF (6-7 (9-7), 6-2, 4-1 at point of suspension) No. 4 - Morgan Martin (MC) def. Amanda Stacks (HC), 6-2, 6-2 No. 5 - Nicole Weldon (HC) vs. Amanda Bitler (MC), DNF (3-6, 6-6 (4-3) at point of suspension) No. 6 - Hannah Lee Dickinson (HC) def. Caitlin Dillon (MC), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1

Courtesy of Huntingdon College Sports Information Department