Smith Shines in Falcon Opener

Walk-on transfer, Lisa Smith started the season with a pair of wins as the Lady Falcons began the season with an away match at Weslyan. Smith and McDowell won the #4 Doubles match. Smith finished the day with a gutsy 9-7 win over Chapman in singles play.

Unfortunately, the the pair of wins proved to be the lone bright spots on the day. The Bobcats posted an impressive 10-2 victory in the non-conference match.

Other scores for the day included:
#1 Doubles Prather/Kisamore vs. Andreini/Scherbakory 1-8
#2 Doubles Preston/Gurash vs. Torres/Hathaway 3-8
#3 Doubles Osborne/White vs. Deming/Shibematsu 1-8
#4 Doubles McDowell/Smith vs. Yamamoto/Whithers 8-6

#1 Singles Prather vs. Torres 2-6,1-6
#2 Singles Preston vs. Andreini 0-6,0-6
#3 Singles Kisamore vs. Scherbahova 0-6,1-6
#4 Singles Gurash vs. Deming 2-6,3-6
#5 Singles McDowell vs. Hathaway 0-6,1-6
#6 Singles Osborne vs. Shibematsu 0-6,1-6
#7 Singles White vs. Yamomoto 1-8
#8 Singles Smith vs. Chapman 9-7

Fall 2009 Tennis Schedule Released

Date /Day /Opponent/ Place/ Time
Sept. 3, 2009 Thurs. at WV Wesleyan (non-conf) Buckhannon, WV 4pm

Sept. 11, 2009 Fri. at Davis & Elkins (non-conf) Elkins 4pm

Sept. 12, 2009 Sat. CHARLESTON Fairmont 10am

Sept. 13, 2009 Sun. at IUP Indiana, PA 11am

Sept. 18, 2009 Fri. at West Liberty West Liberty, WV 4pm

Sept. 19, 2009 Sat. WV STATE Fairmont 10am

Sept. 19, 2009 Sat. SETON HILL Fairmont 2pm

Sept. 26, 2009 Sat. at Bluefield Bluefield, WV 9am

Sept. 26, 2009 Sat. at Concord Athens, WV 2pm

Oct. 2, 2009 Fri. at Frostburg Frostburg, MD 4pm

Oct. 6, 2009 Tues. WV WESLEYAN Fairmont 6pm

Oct. 9, 2009 Fri. DAVIS & ELKINS Fairmont 4pm

Oct. 11, 2009 Sun. at Shepherd Shepherdstown, WV 12pm

Oct. 15, 2009 Thurs. WAYNESBURG Fairmont 3pm

Oct. 22-25, 2009 Thurs/Fri. WVIAC Conference Tourn. Charleston, WV

Parkersburg's Preston Signs with Lady Falcons

Goldie Preston, Parkersburg High School's senior standout, signed her national letter-of-intent to play tennis with Fairmont State University. Preston and her partner, Lakin Whitlach, were the WV Class AAA no. 2 doubles State Champions in 2008.

Falcon's Head Coach Janet Floyd said, "Goldie will continue a string of talented players who have joined Fairmont State from Parkersburg, and we are truly looking forward to having her on our team." Graduating senior, Sierra Hendershot and current team members Katie Prather and Kaitlyn McDowell have all been part of a successful lineage of Big Reds who have joined the Falcon squad.

"I want to have fun. I've put a lot of work into it and I just want to go and enjoy it," Preston said. The Lady Falcons, who are returning all but one of their starting six from last fall expect Preston to make an immediate impact.

Read more about Preston:
http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/517028.html?nav=5063

West Virginia Teams Meet In Hilton Head

Fairmont State and Shepherd drove over six hundred miles to square-off in a WV showdown at the Hilton Head Beach & Tennis Resort. Under very hot and sunny conditions, the Lady Falcons took to the court for the fifth time in as many days on Thursday.

The team looked pretty strong during the three doubles matches, but only managed to pull out a victory in one. Heidi Bastin and Courtney Kisamore continued their streak of tough doubles play with a hard-fought 8-1 win. Bastin and Kisamore ended the week with a 4-1 doubles record.

Unfortunately, that proved to be the lone victory on the day as the extended days of tennis and heat caught up with Fairmont State.

See more photos at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/chefbrianfloyd/HHIDay5#

Falcons Dominate Royals

The Fairmont State Women's team posted an impressive 7-2 win over University of Scranton Wednesday. The late afternoon match began under very warm and sunny conditions, and concluded when the lights automatically turned off a little after 10pm.

Several Falcons generated impressive wins including senior, Sierra Hendershot, who posted a decisive single's win and a doubles win with her partner Katie Prather. Prather pulled out a gutsy single's win of her own.

Heidi Bastin and Courtney Kisamore both also recorded doubles and singles wins. The dramatic last match of the evening featured Sarah White with a 6-2 come back in the second set after dropping the first set 4-6. The team win had already been determined, which meant White and her opponent were to finish the match with a tie break. White had taken a clear lead before the courts turned to pitch black as the lights turned off by timer.

See the photos from today's exciting match:

Doubles:

Hendershot/Prather 8-4

Bastin/Kisamore 9-7

McDowell/White 7-9

Singles:

Sierra Hendershot vs Wylie 6-1,6-2

Katie Prather vs Wylie 6-3,7-5

Heidi Bastin vs Wentworth 6-1,6-3

Courtney Kisamore vs Costello 6-0,6-4

Kaitlyn McDowell vs Lappin 1-6,0-6

Sarah White vs McGinn 4-6,6-2 (2-0)*

*Tie breaker cut short by darkness

Tapi Gives the Falcons a Clinic

Tapi Hayrinen, Tennis Pro at Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center in HHI, gave the Lady Falcons a doubles clinic Wednesday morning. Find out more about Tapi: http://www.tapitennis.com/pages/index.cfm?siteid=2492

Hendershot Pulls Out Three Set Victory

(LtR)Villamare Palmetto Dunes; Sarah White, Katie Prather, Coach Floyd, Sierra Hendershot, Heidi Bastin, Kaitlyn McDowell, Courtney Kisamore; Today's walk on the beach

Fairmont State's Women played NAIA team: Spring Arbor University, MI under beautiful sunny skies at Broad Creek Landing on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the St. Patrick's Day luck went to the Cougars as they pulled out a 7-2 victory over the Falcons.

The Lady Falcons posted wins at #2 doubles and #1 singles. Team captain, Sierra Hendershot, pulled out a dramatic three set win after dropping the first set. Heidi Bastin and Courtney Kisamore posted the Falcons only other win on the day.

The team finished the day with a visit to historic Harbor Town in Sea Pines. After dinner at Crazy Crab the Falcons made the 114 step climb to the top of the lighthouse for a sunset picture.

Tomorrow the team has a morning clinic with local famed tennis pro, Tapi at Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center followed by a 5:30pm match against University of Scranton,PA.

See photos of today's events:

Rain Cuts St Michael's Match Short

Threatening skies gave way to a downpour of rain Monday afternoon at the Hilton Head Beach and Tennis Resort. Fairmont State dropped its three doubles matches to St. Michael's College. The Lady Falcons were improving in the singles matches against the division II Vermont school before the match was called because of rain.

Match results:

Doubles

Hendershot/Prather 4-8

Bastin/Kisamore 2-8

McDowell/White 2-8

Singles

Hendershot 6-4,5-2 (rain)

Prather 1-6,1-6

Bastin 4-6,4-3 (rain)

Kisamore 6-3,3-1 (rain)

McDowell 0-6,4-3 (rain)

White 0-6,0-6

Photos from Day 2:

Lady Falcons Lose to Missouri Valley

The lady falcon tennis team had a rough beginning to their spring break tournament. Fairmont State lost to the Missouri Valley College Vikings 2-7. The NAIA school from Missouri Valley, MO picked up 2 of the 3 doubles matches and won 5 of 6 singles. Heidi Bastin posted wins in both doubles and singles.

The match was played at Hilton Head High School under partly-cloudy skies. Individual scores included:

Doubles
Hendershot-Prather 2-8
Bastin-Kisamore 8-5
McDowell-White 0-8

Singles
Hendershot 2-6,2-6
Prather 0-6,0-6
Bastin 7-6(7-3),6-0
Kisamore 5-7,5-7
McDowell 0-6,0-6
White 3-6,1-6

The day ended with dinner and shopping at South Beach Marina and the Salty Dog Cafe.
See more photos from Day 1:

Lady Falcons at HHI Day 1

The Lady Falcons survived the 10 1/2hr trip from Fairmont to Hilton Head, SC, and weathered rain all day before arriving to enjoy a dinner at Hudsons Restaurant Saturday.

Sunday as the fog lifted, the ladies took practice at the Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center. The hour practice session allowed the Falcons to warm before their afternoon match against the Missouri Valley women's tennis team.

View photos of the morning session:

Spring Break Schedule Announced

Lady Falcons will battle teams from all around the country starting Sunday, March 15th at Hilton Head Island, SC. Here's the Lady Falcon's schedule:

Sun. March 15th Missouri Valley, MO (NAIA)-3pm at Hilton Head HS
Mon. March 16th St. Michael's, VT (DII)-3pm at HH Beach & Tennis Resort
Tues. March 17th Spring Arbor, MI (NAIA)-12:30pm at Broad Creek Landing
Wed. March 18th Scranton, PA (DII)-5:30pm at Bluffton HS
Thurs. March 19th Shepherd, WV (DII)-12pm at Port Royal Plantation

Lady Falcons head to Hilton Head for Spring Break

The Lady Falcon Tennis Team will be heading to Hilton Head Island, SC March 14th-21st. Five matches have already been scheduled for the week.

The tentative list of opponents includes: University of Scranton (PA), Missouri Valley College (MO), Saint Michael's College (VT), Spring Arbor University (MI), Shepherd University (WV).

Matches were organized through: http://www.springbreaktennis.com/

Follow our blog to catch up on the latest team results.

Fairmont State 2008-09 Women's Tennis Team

Back Row (LtoR): Coach Janet Floyd, Heidi Bastin, Sierra Hendershot, Katie Prather, Heather Gurash, Kaity McDowell, Asst. Coach Laura Evert
Front Row (LtoR): Alli Gasti, Amanda Osborne, Courtney Kisamore, Retusa Das

Heidi Bastin
Retusa Das
Alli Gasti
Heather Gurash
Sierra Hendershot
Courtney Kisamore
Kaity McDowell
Amanda Osborne
Katie Prather