SCAC Women's Tennis Championship Schedule
SCAC Spring Sports Festival - Jackson, Miss
April 25-28, 2002

SCAC Women's Tennis Archives
(Adobe Acrobat Reader required)
Year-by-year team scores and all-SCAC performances (1992-2001)
2001 SCAC Women's Tennis Championship Archive

Standings Through Games of January 9, 2003

Team	W	L	Pct.	Home	Away	Neut.
Rhodes College	22	1	0.957	6 - 0	3 - 0	13 - 1
Univ. of the South-Sewanee	15	5	0.750	10 - 3	2 - 2	3 - 0
Trinity University	15	8	0.652	8 - 3	2 - 2	5 - 3
Southwestern University	9	5	0.643	2 - 3	5 - 1	2 - 1
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Technology	5	3	0.625	4 - 1	1 - 2	0 - 0
DePauw University	8	8	0.500	3 - 1	0 - 3	5 - 4
Centre College	6	9	0.400	2 - 3	1 - 6	3 - 0
Millsaps College	4	6	0.400	4 - 2	0 - 2	0 - 2
Hendrix College	3	7	0.300	0 - 5	2 - 0	1 - 2

Game Scores
 

HIGHLIGHTS AND NOTES:




May 22, 2002
Trinity's Yasser loses heartbreaker in NCAA Women's final
Elena Blanina of Methodist defends singles title

SWEET BRIAR, Va. - Trinity University senior Lizzie Yasser gave defending NCAA Champion Elena Blanina everything she could in today's final, and Blanina made the shots that counted, triumphing 7-5, 7-6(2). The Methodist College junior observed that "Winning the second championship was much harder than the first. Everyone knows my game now." Trinity coach Butch Newman said, "Tennis is a game of inches and today was a perfect example. On two crucial game point winners, Lizzie's lob landed just long, and then Elena's shot caught the line." (Complete story)

Methodist coach Goncalo Marques said that "Yasser has a very different game. She didn't give Elena any pace to work with and it was tough to adapt."

Said Newman of his senior, "She's been a great leader. We'll never forget her, but she's moving on to make her mark somewhere else. And I know she will."

May 21, 2002
Yasser reaches NCAA Women's Tennis final
First female Trinity tennis player to reach singles final in 16 years

SWEET BRIAR, Va. - Trinity University senior All-American Lizzie Yasser has become the first female Trinity tennis player in 16 years to reach the NCAA singles final. (Complete story)

The second-seeded Yasser will meet defending champion and top-seed Elena Blanina of Methodist Wednesday College Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET at Sweet Briar College. The last Trinity women's player to reach the championship match was Gretchen Rush Magers, who advanced to the 1986 NCAA Division I final. Sloan Rush made the Division III men's final in 2000.

Yasser beat third-seeded Mary Ellen Gordon of Emory University 6-4, 6-2 Tuesday in the semifinals. Earlier in the day in the quarterfinals, Yasser defeated No. 7 Becca Dutton of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 6-1, 6-1.

In the quarterfinals of doubles, Yasser and junior All-American Abbe Ulrich were eliminated by Selma Kikic and Stephanie Hall of Williams College 7-5, 6-3.

Other SCAC women competing in the singles competition included Trinity's Lindsay Smith who was defeated in the first round by Rachel Holt of Amherst 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. 

University of the South-Sewanee had two representatives in the singles competition. Jackie North won her first round match against Alexia Bawden of Bowdoin 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, before losing in round two to Dutton of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Jackie's sister Kathy lost in the first round to Paulette Hricko of Bowdoin 7-6 (5), 6-7 (8), 6-4.

Rhodes College also sent two players to the singles competition with Kathryn Baker advancing to the second round after defeating Emily Fiegel of Wittenberg 6-4, 6-2. Baker was defeated by Yasser in the second round 6-2, 6-1. Stephanie Gong lost in the first round to Julie Mallory of Williams 6-3, 6-2.

The other SCAC doubles team in the competition - Laura Hoffmeister and Hennessey Howell of Rhodes - lost their first round match to the team of Schwartz and Henderson of Pomona-Pitzer 6-2, 6-3.

 
May 18, 2002
Trinity women finish fourth in nation
Tigers lose 5-4 to Washington & Lee

SWEET BRIAR, Va. - The Trinity women's tennis team ended up fourth in the nation this season, after losing its final match of the season 5-4 to Washington & Lee University on Sunday. (Complete story)

Trinity (15-8) took the early lead with wins in two of the three doubles matches, but could not hold on to the lead in the singles competition. Washington & Lee won four of the six singles matches to secure the victory, clinching the win at No. 5 singles.

May 18, 2002
Trinity women lose to Williams in National Semifinals
Tigers fall short 5-4 in rematch of last year's title match

SWEET BRIAR, Va. - The Trinity women's tennis team fell just short in a rematch of last year's NCAA Championship match, losing 5-4 to Williams College. (Complete story)

Trinity (15-7) lost 6-3 to Williams last season in San Antonio for the 2001 national title. The Tigers fell behind early as Williams took two of the three doubles matches. The two teams split in singles, giving Williams the slim victory and the chance to make history as the first-ever back-to-back champions in Division III women's tennis history.

May 17, 2002
Trinity women defeat Gustavus Adolphus in NCAA Quarterfinal
Tigers earn rematch with defending champions

SWEET BRIAR, Va. - The Trinity women's tennis team ousted Gustavus Adolphus College 6-3 in this morning's NCAA Division III Quarterfinals at Sweet Briar College.

Trinity (15-6) will now face No. 1 seed and defending champs Williams College tomorrow morning in the NCAA  semifinals. Williams defeated the Tigers 6-3 in last year's championship match in San Antonio. (Complete story)


May 13, 2002
SCAC qualifies six for NCAA Singles Championship
Two doubles teams to compete for Doubles Championship

SWEET BRIAR, Va. - The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference continues to be a dominant force in the tennis world. 

Among the 32 participants selected to compete for the 2002 NCAA Division III Singles Championship, an amazing six are from SCAC schools.

Trinity University's Lizzie Yasser, the three-time SCAC Player-of-the-Year, leads an impressive group of players into the championships, which begin Monday, May 20 and run through Wednesday, May 22.

Joining Yasser is teammate Lindsay Smith, along with Kathryn Baker and Stephanie Gong of Rhodes College, and sisters Jackie and Kathy North of the University of the South-Sewanee.

All six players were 2002 all-SCAC first-team selections, and all six led their respective squads to berths in the 2002 team championships.

In the doubles competition, Yasser and Abbe Ulrich of Trinity and Laura Hoffmeister and Hennessy Howell of Rhodes are among 16 teams competing for the 2002 Doubles crown.

The SCAC has a long history of success in the NCAA Division III Tennis Championships. In 1995, Nao Kinoshita of Rhodes won the women's singles championship and duplicated the feat in 1997. In that same year, Kinoshita teamed with Taylor Tarver to take the doubles title. And just two years ago, Trinity became the first school ever to win the men's and women's team championship in the same season.

For the complete listing of all qualifiers for this year's tournament, click here.


May 13, 2002
Trinity to meet Gustavus Adolphus in NCAA Quarterfinals
Tigers in quarterfinals for 10th consecutive year

SWEET BRIAR, Va. - The Trinity University women's tennis team finds itself in familiar territory.

For the 10th consecutive year, the Tigers have advanced to the national quarterfinals. And that has been a good thing because, with a 1998 loss to Amherst being the exception, Trinity has won that quarterfinal match every time.
 
Trinity hopes history repeats itself when the Tigers take on Gustavus Adolphus on Friday, May 17 in Sweet Briar, Va., the site for the 2002 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships. 

The other six schools remaining in the bracket are defending champion Williams, Washington (Mo.), Washington & Lee, Pomona-Pitzer, Amherst and Emory.

If Trinity wins on Friday, the Tigers would play the winner of Williams and Washington (Mo.) in the semifinals on Saturday. For the complete women's bracket, click here.  


May 11, 2002
Trinity women slug UC-Santa Cruz 7-2 in West Region finals
Fourth-ranked Tigers head to Sweet Briar, Va., for NCAA Final Eight

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The Trinity University Tigers women's tennis team won the NCAA Division III West Region with a 7-2 victory over the California-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs Saturday at Delavan Tennis Stadium. (Complete match results)

Trinity (14-6), ranked No. 4 nationally and No. 1 in the region, will now compete Friday at the NCAA Championships at Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Va. The Tigers were runners-up at nationals last year and won the title in 2000.

The Tigers won five of six singles and two of three doubles matches Saturday. Senior Lizzie Yasser of Tulsa, Okla., who received her degree that morning, beat Sara Moglen 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. First-year player Megan Suarez of Grapevine, Texas, clinched the match for Trinity at No. 3 singles, beating Ellen Ganz 7-5, 6-2.

Santa Cruz (11-7) was ranked 15th nationally and No. 4 in the region.

May 10, 2002
Emory completes sweep of Rhodes with 5-1 victory in sub-region final
Lynx women lose in team competition for just the second time all season 

ATLANTA, Ga. - No one from Rhodes College - male or female - was happy with Friday's tennis results.

Just hours after Emory University's men had defeated their male counterparts, the Rhodes women suffered a season-ending on the same courts to the same school.

Emory defeated Rhodes 5-1 on Friday afternoon in women's NCAA Division III Atlantic South sub- region play - handing the Lynx just their second defeat of the season. Rhodes ends the 2002 campaign with an impressive 23-2 mark.

The Lynx were in an early hole after losing all three doubles matches, but fought back admirably in singles play. All-SCAC performer Stephanie Gong earned a win at No. 2 singles for Rhodes' only point on the afternoon. Two other Rhodes players were winning their singles matches when the threat of inclement weather forced the conclusion of the match once Emory had secured their decisive fifth point. (Match results)



May 10, 2002
Campbell of Rhodes, Yasser of Trinity voted SCAC Tennis Players-of-the-Year; Hatgas selected Coach-of-the-Year
2002 All-SCAC Tennis Teams (Acrobat Reader required)

SUWANEE, Ga. - In exclusive voting by the head coaches in the league, Andy Campbell of Rhodes College and Lizzie Yasser of Trinity University have been selected the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Players-of-the-Year for the 2002 season. In that same balloting, Sarah Hatgas of Rhodes was named both the men’s and women’s tennis Coach-of-the-Year.

Campbell, a junior from Chattanooga, Tenn., finished the regular season with an 18-7 mark while playing No. 1 singles for the Lynx. He and partner Duncan Howell went 19-8 at No. 1 doubles and were named to the all-tournament team at the 2002 SCAC Tennis Championships. Campbell led his team to a spot in the 27-team NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships – the school’s first appearance in the tournament since the formation of the SCAC. In the most recent player rankings, Campbell was ranked fifth among South Atlantic region singles players.

Yasser, a senior from Tulsa, Okla., finished her regular season with a 15-4 mark at No. 1 singles for the Tigers, and pushed her career record to an impressive 70-14. With this year’s honor, Yasser becomes the first tennis player ever – men’s or women’s – to be named the league’s Player-of-the-Year three times. She is also the first player to receive all-SCAC honors four times in a career. Along with teammate Abbe Ulrich, Yasser went 13-6 at No. 1 doubles and earned all-tournament honors at the 2002 SCAC Tennis Championships. In the most recent player rankings, Yasser was fifth in the nation among DIII singles players. Trinity, which plays California-Santa Cruz in the West Region finals on Saturday, May 11, is participating in its 10th consecutive NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis tournament.

Hatgas, who has coached the women’s team at Rhodes for 26 years and the men’s squad for 13 years, led both programs to second-place finishes at the 2002 SCAC Championships – representing the best finish by either program in its time in the SCAC. Both the men and women earned bids to the 2002 NCAA Division III Tennis Championships. In the most recent ITA team rankings, the Rhodes men were ranked 18th nationally and eighth in the tough South Atlantic region. The Lynx women were even higher at eighth nationally and third in the South Atlantic region. The Rhodes women have qualified for the national tournament the last three seasons.

For the complete listing of the 2002 men's and women's all-SCAC tennis teams, click here.






May 9, 2002
Rhodes defeats Sewanee 7-2 to advance to sub-region final
Lynx to play Emory on Friday

ATLANTA, Ga. - The Rhodes College Lynx defeated SCAC rival University of the South-Sewanee 7-2 on Thursday in Atlantic South region play on the campus of Emory University. (Match results)

Next up for the Lynx (23-1) is the host team, Emory University. The two will meet on Friday at 2:30 p.m. EDT in the sub-region final.

Rhodes picked up wins in the singles competition from Stephanie Gong, Laura Hoffmeister, Lauren Stewart and Jamie Graham in addition to sweeping the doubles competition to end Sewanee's season. The Tigers finish with an overall mark of 17-7.


May 8, 2002
Rhodes, Sewanee and Trinity prepare for NCAA Regionals
TU Tigers to host West Region; Rhodes and Sewanee in Atlantic South Region

The Trinity University Tigers will host the University of California-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (11-6) in a NCAA DIII West Region tennis match Saturday, May 11, at 2:30 p.m. at Delavan Tennis Stadium.

Trinity (13-6) is ranked fourth nationally by the ITA and No. 1 in the West Region. The Tigers received their 10th straight bid to the NCAA tournament since 1993. Trinity won the national crown in 2000 and was runner-up to Williams College (Mass.) last year and to Kenyon (Ohio) in 1997. The Tigers, who won their 11th straight SCAC championship last month, have reached the final four on eight occasions. (West bracket - PDF)

Rhodes College (22-1) and the University of the South-Sewanee (17-6) face each other on Thursday, May 9 in Atlanta, Ga., at 10:30 a.m. EDT. The winner of the match plays the host school, Emory University, on Friday at 10:30 p.m. (Atlantic South bracket - PDF)



May 2, 2002
Trinity nets two more SCAC tennis titles
Eleventh consecutive championship for women; Ninth consecutive for men
Complete match-by match results / 2002 All-Tournament Team (Acrobat Reader required)

JACKSON, Miss. – The Trinity University men’s and women’s tennis teams once again defended their Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) crowns, with both teams defeating Rhodes College in the championship matches at the 2002 Spring Sports Festival at Millsaps College. For the women, it was their 11th-consecutive title (the Tigers shared the 1997 title with University of the South-Sewanee after rain cancelled the championship match), and for the men it was their 10th championship in the 11-year history of the league (the men shared the ’97 crown with Sewanee, also due to weather cancellation).

The TU Tiger women swept through Centre College and DePauw University 9-0 before defeating Rhodes in the championship match 6-3. Lizzie Yasser at No. 1 singles and Lindsay Smith at No. 2 singles each went 3-0 to lead the Tigers.

Trinity’s men defeated Hendrix College 5-1 and Sewanee 6-1 to advance to the championship match against Rhodes. Tied at 3 points each with just one individual match left to be decided, it appeared that Rhodes was ready to dethrone the perennial champions. Rhodes’ Duncan Howell held a 5-2 lead in the third set of the No. 3 singles match, but Sean Fifield held off three match points and fought back to take the final set 7-6 and give the TU Tigers yet another championship.

Ryan Scott at No. 2, Fifield at No. 3 and Jordan Taillon at No. 4 singles all went 3-0 during the tournament to lead the way for Trinity.






May 22, 2001
Trinity Women Fall Just Short of Repeating; 
Lose to Williams in NCAA Tennis Championship Match

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. – The Williams College Ephs defeated the Trinity University Tigers 6-3 to win the 2001 NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championships Sunday at Trinity.

Williams won its first women’s tennis title in school history, defeating Trinity, which won the championship last season.

Williams took two of the doubles matches, earning a 2-1 lead heading into singles competition. The Ephs kept the Tigers one step behind most of the way, as the teams split the first four matches to finish, giving Williams a slim 4-3 margin. The good news for the eventual champions was that they were ahead in both of the remaining matches.

Trinity managed to steal the second set in one of the matches, after being down 5-2, forcing a third – and final – set. The other match was already in a third set, but Williams was leading. Julie Mallory ended up winning that match, clinching the team championship for the Williams College Ephs. Trinity defaulted the final match to make the final 6-3 in favor of Williams.

Trinity advanced to the finals after defeating Washington & Lee (Va.) University 7-2 in the opening round and Amherst (Mass.) College 5-4 in the semifinals.