April 24, 2004

WILLIAMSBURG, VA - Virginia Commonwealth's women's tennis team, ranked 51st in the nation and seeded second, defeated third-seeded Old Dominion, 4-1, in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Tennis Tournament this afternoon at William and Mary's Busch Tennis Courts. The win improves the Rams' record to 17-7, while the Monarchs fall to 8-12.

ODU began the match with a 1-0 lead, as VCU only had five players available at the match and was forced to default the contests at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles. The Rams won the doubles point to tie the score at one, with victories on courts one and two. VCU's Cristina Arribas and Olga Borisova, ranked 59th in the nation, defeated Nataly Cahana and Kerstin Endlich, 8-3, at No. 1. On court two, the Rams' Fernada Luiz and Larissa Santos defeated Cristina Gago and Silvia Urickova, 8-1.

VCU took a 2-1 lead with a victory at No. 2, where Borisova, the CAA Rookie of the Year and ranked 71st in the nation, was up 6-5 in the first set, when her opponent, Endlich, retired with an injury. At No. 3, Arribas defeated Luiz, 6-4, 7-5, to put the score at 3-1. Camille Ripert clinched the Rams' victory with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 5 over Coralie Herrmann. Both of the uncompleted singles contests had just started the third set when the match was decided.

The Rams, winners of the 2003 CAA Championship, now advance to this year's final, where they will face either William and Mary or UNC Wilmington. That match will be held at the Busch Courts tomorrow at 1:00 PM.

#51 Virginia Commonwealth 4, Old Dominion 1
Colonial Athletic Association Women's Tennis Tournament Semifinal

Singles
1. #53 Silvia Urickova (VCU) vs. #31 Nataly Cahana (ODU); suspended
2. #71 Olga Borisova (VCU) d. Kerstin Endlich (ODU); 6-5, ret.
3. Cristina Arribas (VCU) d. Fernada Luiz (ODU); 6-4, 7-5
4. Cristina Gago (VCU) vs. Larissa Santos (ODU); suspended
5. Camille Ripert (VCU) d. Coralie Herrmann (ODU); 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
6. Default to Old Dominion
Order of finish: 2, 3, 5

Doubles
1. #59 Arribas/Borisova (VCU) d. Cahana/Endlich (ODU); 8-3
2. Luiz/Santos (VCU) d. Gago/Urickova (ODU); 8-1
3. Default to Old Dominion
Order of finish: 1, 2