Las Vegas, NV (March 13, 2013)- After defeating the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the nation to start the season, the fifth ranked Hawai'i Pacific Women's Tennis Team (9-1) fell to top-ranked and defending NCAA Division II National Champion Armstrong Atlantic State (13-0) 6-2 in Las Vegas.
The Sea Warriors fell behind early after getting swept in doubles action. The pair of
Lea Kruse-Utermann and
Karen Ramirez stayed close with the No. 6 ranked doubles team before eventually falling 8-6.
In singles action the Sea Warriors took two of six matches from the Pirates as
Ielyzaveta Rybakova defeated No. 2 ranked Barbora Krtichova, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 in first singles and No.40
Celina Goetti dropped No.14 Marlen Hacke, 6-4, 7-6 (6) in third singles.
Head Coach
Lauren Conching commented on her team's effort on the long road trip, "We had a great road trip, so this was a tough way to end it. As always, Armstrong Atlantic is a very strong team. In the end, getting down 3-0 after doubles really hurt us, as the singles matches were all pretty close. Ten matches in to the season, I am very happy with the way we have been competing and look forward to the second half of the season."
The Sea Warriors will next take on Emory University on March 15th in Kona at 10:30 AM.
