Tennis splits with Villanova, Rutgers

The West Virginia tennis team split two Big East Conference matches in its final road trip of the season.

The Mountaineers, who ended the regular season with a 16-6 record including a 6-2 mark in the Conference, defeated Villanova 4-0 Friday before falling to Rutgers 6-1 Saturday.

"We did a nice job with Villanova," said West Virginia head coach Marc Walters. "We were very tidy, but I don't think we lost any of the momentum that we had going into the Rutgers match."

Friday's match against Villanova was stopped after just four singles points due to inclement weather. WVU's Stephanie LaFortune picked up the win at No. 1, beating Carla Erskine 6-1, 6-2.

The other three Mountaineer players to pick up points in the match were juniors Monique Burton and Ashley Pilsbury and sophomore Katie Haught, all winning in straight sets.

Of the three, Pilsbury was the most impressive, dominating the Wildcats' Wesleigh Donadio in both sets, 6-0, 6-0.

"Ashley's getting real comfortable. I liked how she struck the ball all weekend," Walters said. "We've been working on getting her to be more aggressive, and she did that in both matches this weekend."

The other two matches that were still in play at the time the match was stopped were at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots.

In those matches, West Virginia's Veronica Cardenas and Emily Mathis had the lead when their matches were called.

Cardenas had won her first set and was leading 5-1, and Mathis, who also beat Alexandra Harding in the first, held a 5-4 lead in the second set.

The Mountaineers ran into a tougher team Saturday against the Scarlet Knights.

"The result was very disappointing, but I wasn't disappointed with how we played," Walters said. "(Rutgers) flat out beat us. That might have been the best match they had all year from top to bottom."

Haught won the lone West Virginia point in the match.

After losing her first set 1-6, the Hilton Head, S.C., native fought back and won the second set 7-6 and closed out the match with a 7-5 win in the third set.

"(Katie) has played well all year," Walters said. "She's played over and above what other people have expected of her. She's had her back to the wall in so many matches, and she just refuses to lose. She just plays big points really, really well."

Now the Mountaineers must sit back and see where they will be seeded for the Big East Tournament, which begins Thursday in South Bend, Ind.

The tournament seedings have yet to be released, but Walters expects his team to land the No. 8 seed but could fall to No. 9 or No. 10.

"The way that we've played all year gives us a good opportunity to do well in the tournament," Walters said. "We're going to have a tough 4-3 match right out of the gate, and that's what we thrive on."