RAMS SWEEP CAMPBELL, GEORGE MASON IN SEASON-OPENING 4-1 INVITATATIONAL

RICHMOND, Va. – Prior to the 2010 spring season, Head Coach Paul Kostin commented about the depth and balance of his Virginia Commonwealth University women's tennis squad.

Those characteristics were on display on Friday afternoon as the Rams rolled to back-to-back sweeps of Campbell (5-0) and George Mason (5-0) at Thalhimer Tennis Center in the 2010 VCU 4-1 Invitational.

"Today was a good start for us," Kostin said. "All six of our girls picked up wins and stayed healthy, which is important because we have a tough match on Sunday at Clemson."

Junior Kateryna Yergina (Kiev, Ukraine) played at the top spot in both matches, picking up straight set wins over Lisa Sutton of Campbell (6-0, 6-4) and Kiersten Pappas of George Mason (6-1, 6-1).

Senior Olena Leonchuk (Kiev, Ukraine) was the only other Ram to play singles in both matches. The veteran never dropped a game, defeating Anais Gomar of Campbell (6-0, 6-0) and Aryn Christman of George Mason (6-0, 6-0).

As a team, the Rams only dropped six games in their singles matches on Friday afternoon.

 MATCH #1 - VCU d. Campbell, 5-0
1. Kateryna Yergina d. Lisa Sutton, 6-0, 6-4
2. Josefin Hjertquist d. Blanca Saenz, 6-1, 6-0
3. Laura Burns d. Borislava Nikolova, 6-1, 6-0
4. Olena Leonchuk d. Anais Gomar, 6-0, 6-0

Doubles
Ana Bara/Alex Bara d. Ana Surviladze/Cristina Garcia Brunet, 6-3, 6-1

MATCH #2: VCU 5, George Mason 0
Singles
1.Yergina d. Kiersten Pappas, 6-1, 6-1
2. Ana Bara d. Lindsay Gray, 6-0, 6-0
3. Alex Bara d. Stephanie Longueira, 6-1, 6-0
4. Leonchuk d. Aryn Christman, 6-0, 6-0

Doubles
Hjertquist/Burns d. Andrea Londen/Cecelia Marie Greco, 6-0, 6-0