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News Release
WOMEN'S TENNIS ADVANCES TO AMERICA EAST FINALS; MEN OUSTED BY BINGHAMTON
5/1/2004
BOSTON- Nine-time defending America East Champion Boston University and first-year championship participant University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) posted semifinal wins to advance to the title match of the 2004 America East Women's Tennis Championship today at the Connecticut Tennis Center in New Haven, Conn. The winner of the America East crown, which will be held on Sunday, will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
UMBC recorded a 4-1 victory over Stony Brook University to advance to the league final. The Retrievers started off on a good note as they won the doubles point. The Ale Pedergnana and Aimee Lim (8-1 over Lauren Conching-Victoria Vasile) team and the Elizabeth Anderson and Adriana Fonseca (8-1 over Olesya Ianovitch-Ashley Ward) duo posted the doubles victories for UMBC.
Singles competition began with a Stony Brook win as Anne Catherine Valle downed Tia Kaasalainen 6-2, 6-2 at first singles, but UMBC then fought back with victories at second, fourth and fifth singles to move on. Pedergnana (6-1, 6-4 over Georgia Bushell), Lana Khvalina (6-2, 6-1 over Vasile) and Fonseca (7-6, 6-1 over Ianovitch) recorded those singles wins for the Retrievers.
Boston University and UMBC will square off on Sunday at 9 a.m. with the championship on the line. The Terriers have won all 13 conference championships that they have competed in, including nine straight. UMBC is in its first season of play in America East, after being added as the 10th member institution for the 2003-04 athletic season.
On the men's side, Binghamton recorded a 4-1 victory over UMBC to advance to its second consecutive America East Men's Tennis Championship final. Binghamton came away with the doubles point as the Bearcat Richemn Mourad-Juan Garcia (9-7 over James Tyler and Mike Keller) and Brian O'Connor-Edwin Gerard (8-2 over Mikhail Kouznetsov and Mehrban Iranshad) teams posted victories. Dan Hanegby and Steve Spencer of Binghamton were deadlocked with Josef Novotny and Luis Baraldi (8-8) when the doubles point was awarded to the Bearcats.
Singles competition started with a UMBC win as Novotny downed Hanegby (6-3, 6-4) at first singles, but Binghamton responded with victories at third, fourth and fifth singles to move on. O'Connor (6-1, 6-0 over Kouznetsov), Spencer (6-4, 6-2 over Baraldi) and Gerard (6-0, 7-6 over Djan Gusmao) recorded those three singles wins.