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News Release
MEN'S, WOMEN'S TENNIS BOTH SEEDED THIRD AS RETRIEVERS PREPARE FOR AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
4/27/2006
The UMBC men’s and women’s tennis teams are both seeded third as they prepare for the 2006 America East Championships at the Connecticut Tennis Center in New Haven, Connecticut on Friday, April 28 through Sunday, April 30. Both conference champions receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
The UMBC women (8-10) will face sixth-seeded
The men (10-11) will open vs. sixth-seeded
In other news, three Retriever men earned Second Team All Conference honors. Junior Mehrban Iranshad (
Volleys: After starting the season at 0-7, the women finished the season at 8-10…they have won three straight matches heading into the tournament, including a 4-3 decision over Patriot League champion Army in their most recent match (April 17)…however, UMBC’s streak of nine consecutive winning seasons is in jeopardy of coming to an end…Keith Puryear now has a record of 232-164 (.586) in 15 years at the helm of the women’s program…the women are 3-2 in two years of America East Tournament play…they advanced to the title match in 2004, falling to Boston University, and fell, 4-0, to Binghamton in the semi-finals last year…the women faced three league foes during the campaign, defeating Stony Brook, while dropping matches to Boston University and Binghamton.
Holdovers Adriana Fonseca and Ale Pedergnana earned All America East honors in 2004…No. 1 Pedergnana just won her 100th career match vs. Army…she won her last 11 single matches and finished the campaign at 13-4…she was also 10-5 with Cornelia Carapcea at #1 doubles…she led the squad with 23 victories this spring, followed by Carapcea with 19…Fonseca just returned to the court after knee surgery in the fall…she lost her #6 singles match, but combined with Pascaline Cette to win at #3 doubles vs. Army…Cette, who was plagued by shoulder ailments this spring, won six of her seven singles matches after returning to the lineup.
“The women have battled adversity all year, mostly struggling with injuries. In several matches, we had only four players are even they weren’t completely healthy. But we constantly came prepared to play and came through that rough stretch pretty well. I think they learned a lot and it was great to see them pull out a win (4-3 against Patriot League Champion) over Army. Hopefully, we can take that momentum into the tournament.”
“I can’t say enough about Ale and what she has meant to the team. I challenged her last year to step into the role of the #1 player and she has done so brilliantly. She’s had some great wins and we hope to get a couple more out of her.”
Drop Shots: The men won three of their last four matches to finish the regular season at 10-11, the exact same record they finished the 2005 campaign with…in both seasons of America East Tournament play, the men have opened with quarter-final wins, but dropped semi-final matches…last season, rookies Irfan Shamasdin, Fernando Ferreira, Lief Hollowell and David Jackson all earned Second Team all league honors…Head Coach Keith Puryear is now 203-172 (.541) in 17 seasons with the men’s program…his overall record is now 435-336 (.564)…the men faced three league foes this year, defeating Boston University and dropping matches to Stony Brook and Binghamton.
Freshman Nick Savage-Pollock led the team in wins this season with 22, followed by Fernando Ferreira’s 18…Savage-Pollock was 13-6 in singles, including a 9-6 record at the #1 and #2 slots…Ferreira and David Jackson formed a tough doubles tandem down the stretch, winning five of six matches at #1 doubles and posted a 7-2 overall mark.
“The men seem to be moving in the right direction at this time. They have also dealt with some injuries and illness and I have had to juggle the lineup quite a bit. But I think we have found what is working and the guys understand what they need to do.”