WOMEN'S TENNIS: SHAW AND WINSTON-SALEM STATE SET TO DUEL FOR 2011 CIAA CHAMPIONSHIP

SHAW AND WINSTON-SALEM STATE SET TO DUEL FOR 2011 CIAA WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

Defending champion takes on “returning, newcomer”

April 22, 2011

Ettrick, VA – The Lady Bears of Shaw University will challenge top-seeded Winston-Salem State University in the 2011 CIAA Women’s Tennis Championship after both advanced with victories in the semifinals on Friday morning at the Virginia State Tennis Courts. Shaw earned a 6-3 win over tournament host Virginia State Lady Trojans and WSSU swept Johnson C. Smith University 5-0.

No. 2 seed Shaw started the semifinal match against No. 3 VSU down 2-0 after forfeiting the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. The Lady Bears rebounded to tie the team score 2-2 with wins at the No. 1 doubles (8-6) and No. 2 doubles (8-0).

Shaw’s number two doubles tandem of Lolia Kienka and Evan Okafor shut out Tamilia Hicks and Lakevia Ingram for an 8-0 win. The number one doubles match came down to the wire, but Shaw's Aline Ferreira and Vimbai Mawisire secured an 8-6 win over Keisha Holmes and Amanda Spencer.

Alexandria McCray of VSU topped Desiree Bell (6-4, 6-2) in No. 5 singles for the third Lady Trojan match point. However, the Lady Bears earned wins in singles matches one through four to advance.

The Lady Rams of WSSU had Johnson C. Smith outmatched after taking a 3-0 in doubles play. Sloane Holmes and Kalin Jarvis finished the deal with sweeps (6-0, 6-0) at the No. 1 and No. 4 singles spots, respectively.

With the seeding playing out, No. 1 Winston-Salem State will have their opportunity to knock off two-time defending champion Shaw (No. 2). WSSU advances to the finals in their first season returning to the CIAA since accepting NCAA DI-AA status in 2006. The Lady Rams sport a 26-1 overall record, including a 16-0 conference mark. WSSU won both of the regular season meetings with Shaw in 5-4 tallies.

The championship match is tentatively slated to begin at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 23rd at the VSU Tennis Courts.