Billikens Conclude Successful Season
April 22, 2008
WRAPPING IT UP - Saint Louis women's tennis concluded the 2007-08 season by placing sixth at the Atlantic 10 Championship. The Billikens posted a 13-12 record, including a 2-2 slate at the A-10 Championship. SLU, the No. 8 seed, opened with a 4-0 win over No. 9 Fordham, was edged 4-3 by No. 1 Massachusetts, defeated No. 4 Duquesne 4-2 and fell 4-3 to No. 6 Charlotte. RISING TO THE OCCASION - Several Billikens enjoyed strong performances at the A-10 Championship. Freshman Hailee Elmore (Springfield, Ill./Springfield) was 3-0 at No. 2 singles, while junior Joe Becker (Frankfurt, Germany/Ziehen School), senior Tara Grant (Austin, Texas/St. Stephen's) and senior Rachel McCullagh (Sugar Land, Texas/John Newcombe) were 3-1 at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 singles, respectively. Elmore and Becker produced a 2-1 record at No. 2 doubles, while Grant and McCullagh were 2-2 at No. 3 doubles. DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE - For the second time in their history, the Billikens have registered a double-digit win total in three consecutive seasons. Saint Louis enjoyed a double-digit victory count in four straight years (1994-97) prior to its current streak covering the 2006-08 seasons. The 41 victories collected during the past three campaigns match the total posted by the 1994-96 squads as the second-best three-year span in program history. LINING `EM UP, PUTTING `EM DOWN - The Billikens won six consecutive matches earlier this season, tying three other SLU women's tennis teams for the fourth-longest winning streak in program history. The 1996-97 team won a school-record 10 matches in a row, followed by the 2005-06 squad that assembled a nine-match streak. Eight-match streaks were achieved by the 2000-01 and 1994-95 teams.
AND A FRESHMAN SHALL LEAD THEM - Hailee Elmore enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in SLU women's tennis history. She led the Billikens in singles victories (21), singles winning percentage (21-6, .778), doubles victories (17) and doubles winning percentage (17-5, .773). Elmore's 21 singles triumphs rank sixth on SLU's single-season chart, and her 38 total victories are tied for sixth on the Billiken single-season list. In addition, her .778 singles winning percentage ranks second at Saint Louis for players who have tallied at least 20 wins in a season, and her .773 doubles winning mark is second for Billiken players who have collected 15 or more victories in a season. BILLS' BEST PICKS ARE 2 AND 6 - In singles play, the Nos. 2 and 6 positions were the Billikens' most productive spots this year. Led by Hailee Elmore's 14-1 ledger, SLU produced a 16-8 record at No. 2. Rachel McCullagh turned in a 10-3 mark at No. 6 to lead the Bills to a 16-8 slate. Also, Joe Becker and Tara Grant had 9-4 records at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. ALMOST PERFECT PAIRING - Hailee Elmore and Joe Becker were the Billikens' most successful doubles team this season, posting a 15-4 record that included a 9-1 mark at No. 2. Tara Grant and Rachel McCullagh were 6-3 at No. 3. CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS - All three Saint Louis seniors concluded their careers ranked among the Billikens' top 10 in doubles victories and total victories, and two of those seniors also reached the top 10 in singles wins. Amanda Hellberg (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) is third in total victories (122), tied for third in doubles (54) and fifth in singles (68). Rachel McCullagh is tied for fifth in total wins (109), sixth in singles (63) and 10th in doubles (46). Tara Grant is tied for third in doubles (54) and tied for ninth in total victories (103). Claiming places in the top 20 on the career charts are Joe Becker in singles (16th, 38) and doubles (16th, 31) and Grant in singles (14th, 49). |
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