Nov. 12, 2002

The Charlotte 49ers women's tennis team just completed their fall tournament season. The team returns to action, January 31, 2003 when they travel to Virginia Tech for their first dual match.

"The fall proved to be a great learning experience for us as a team," Charlotte coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods said. "We had the opportunity to play with some top ranked teams and showed we can compete with them on the court. Overall, the fall is usually a great time to gain some good match experience and get everyone excited for the spring dual matches. I am excited about what I saw and how our team really worked well together. We are expecting a great spring with better results and are aiming for higher goals as a group."

Coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods breaks down the play of the returning 49ers players in the fall.

"One of our highlights from the fall was the play of Jana Cucciniello, who has been recovering from a loose shoulder all fall. We were thrilled to have her back on the court competing for us and she had a tremendous run making it to the finals of a fall tournament for the first time in her career. Also, Jennifer Hatch had a good fall and a great tournament at UNC Wilmington, where she also placed 2nd in her flight. She has shown a lot of fight and heart throughout the season and I am looking forward to her continuing her intensity on the court this spring."

"Laura Swain also had a good season as she is showing more of what she is capable of doing on the court. She had a good tournament at our regionals where she advanced to the 2nd round before falling in a tough match to the 22nd ranked player in the nation from North Carolina. She also has shown a good amount of improvement as she battled the top seed from Charleston Southern at the Wofford tournament in an intense third set battle - an opponent she had lost to previously 6-1, 6-0 in September."

"Stacie Luders, our lone senior and captain had some bad luck with an injury that kept her out for the latter part of the season. She had a great run in doubles at the Wolfpack Invitational where she and Megan Bullins had advanced to the semifinals of their flight before rain cancelled the event."

"Courtney Clifford showed a ton of fight and desire this fall and had some tough results. She ended on a good note at Wofford where she had two wins over players from Wingate and UNC Wilmington."

Zawacki-Woods' Thoughts on the Newcomers in the Fall:

"I was pleased with the performance of our freshmen as they competed for their first season as 49ers. Throughout the fall, their results became better as their confidence increased, and they are expected to continue to add depth to our program. Lindsay Morris had a terrific tournament at Wofford where she finished with a 4-1 record in singles and a 2-1 doubles record with Jennifer Hatch. Lindsay Morris also had a good tournament at Regionals as she was a qualifier into the main draw where she fell to the 8th seed from Duke in the first round. Ashleigh Murray also represented us well at Wofford dominating a few players in the singles draw and making the semifinals in doubles with partner, Laura Swain. Megan Bullins had her best fall performance in Wilmington where she defeated 3 players from Davidson, College of Charleston, and UNC Wilmington before falling to Laura McNamera from MTSU. I was also proud of the improvement Marilyn Clark has been showing in her game. She had a good showing at Wofford where she had wins over UNC Wilmington and Charleston Southern in singles."