Barton Named Great West Conference Coach of the Year as CSU Women's Tennis Closes Season with 4-3 Win over Texas-Pan American in GWC Championship Third-Place Match

CHICAGO - The Chicago State University women's tennis team concluded its 2011-12 schedule on Sunday in thrilling fashion after edging host Texas-Pan American, 4-3, in the third-place match of the third-annual Great West Conference Championship at the HEB Tennis Center in Harlingen, Texas.

Seeded fifth in the tournament, the Cougars defeated fourth-seeded North Dakota, 4-1, in the first round before falling to eventual champion NJIT in the semifinals by a 4-0 margin.

The Green and White opened the match with an early 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point with leads in all three doubles matches. The Tejoprayitno twins posted a commanding 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles over Malin Anderson and Suncica Strkic. Sophomore Karyn Emeralda (Jakarta, Indonesia) and junior Ruta Grinvalde (Latvia) edged Wanda Beguelin and Dana Nazarova by a 9-7 margin in the No. 2 doubles contest.

After UTPA posted wins at No. 5 and 6 singles to capture a 2-1 advantage, Grinvalde tied the score at 2-2 following her 6-2, 6-4 win over Cindy Sands at No. 4. The Broncs reclaimed the lead at 3-2 after claiming victory at No. 3 singles.

Juan Rosalina knocked off Nazarova at No. 2 singles with scores of 7-5, 6-2 to even the match at 3-3 before Emeralda swept Andersen at No. 1 singles by 7-5, 6-3 to give CSU the win.

Following the tournament, CSU head coach Jack Barton was selected as GWC Coach of the Year while seniors Juan Rosalina and Juan Rosalia Tejoprayitno (Mojokerto, East Java, Indonesia) finished their collegiate careers by gaining all-conference honors. Rosalina was named First Team All-GWC and Rosalia captured Second Team All-GWC accolades.

The Cougars ended the season with a season record of 7-17.

Source: Great West Conference