W&L Picked to Win Fifth Straight Women's Tennis Title

Generals Shoot for 17th Overall ODAC Crown

March 1, 2007

SALEM, Va. – Washington and Lee University, having won its 16^th league crown a season ago, secured all eleven first-place votes to garner the top spot in the 2007 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll.

The Generals earned 121 total votes while Virginia Wesleyan College came in second with 93 nods from the survey of the conference’s coaches.  Hollins University was slated in third with 89 votes. 

The Generals, 10-0 in the ODAC and 21-0 overall, competed in NCAA Division III finals last year.  They fell to Emory 1-5, but first single’s standout Emily Applegate won the women’s tennis singles championship. W&L is excited to return Applegate, last season’s ODAC Player of the Year, along with Katie Tabb, Leah Weston, and Ginny Wortham, who were all First Team All-ODAC. 

Last season, the Marlins achieved a 17-2 record overall and an 8-5 mark in the ODAC.  VWC earned a fourth place finish in the ODAC tournament with second place finishes in #4 singles and #2 doubles.  The Marlins return Lisa Fanney and Caroline Place, the duo that won second doubles last season, and Megan Crook, a sophomore who plays number one for Virginia Wesleyan.  Newcomers Shannon Sabo and Imee Bautista look to add an immediate impact in both the singles and doubles competitions.

Hollins University finished third in the ODAC last season with an 8-2 conference record.  Hollins welcomes back last season’s ODAC Rookie of the Year, Maggie Bai.  Also returning for Hollins are Barrett Jones, #1 doubles Second Team All-ODAC, and Sarah Sullivan, #5 singles Second Team All-ODAC.   

Listed below is the entire 2007 ODAC coaches poll. For a more in-depth view into each of the teams, please visit the ODAC on the web at www.odaconline.com

2007 ODAC Women’s Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll

(#) Denotes First Place Votes