April 22, 2008

New Brunswick, NJ (UWIRE) -- The Rutgers tennis team concluded their season at the Big East Tournament this weekend with a heartbreaking loss to Marquette Saturday in the consolation match.

"It was terrific effort against Marquette. We battled so hard. They were the fourth seed we are the eighth seed," head coach Ben Bucca said. "We battled against a team that beat us convincingly during the regular season without there best player, and now with their best player and even more depth to their team we came within a few points of upsetting them on a national stage. And the only reason we came within a few points of upsetting them, is because of the spirit and the heart that the girls played with."

The Scarlet Knights landed in the consolation game after a tough second round loss to No. 17 ranked and first seeded Notre Dame.

The Knights dropped the match 4-0 after nearly capturing the doubles point, which would have shifted the momentum and possibly the match in a different direction.

"We almost won the doubles point. It was hotly contested," Bucca said. "You could see as the match went on that our players' faces were gaining more and more confidence as the faces on the Notre Dame players were showing more and more concern. The doubles point really showed the girls that they can perform on the highest level of college tennis in the country."

Before falling to Notre Dame, RU opened the tournament with a convincing 4-1 victory Thursday over Pittsburgh.

"Overall, we did well. We didn't have such a great match against Notre Dame, but in the first round we did a great job against Pittsburgh. Then we had a really tough match the last day against Marquette, but I was happy with our performance overall," Rutgers senior co-captain Katrina Elder-Bush said.

Elder-Bush and fellow senior Anela Dujsic finished their collegiate careers this past weekend.

Despite finishing their careers in a losing fashion, they were happy with the way the team played this year and with their four years on the Banks.

"I don't think it has really hit me yet. I don't really know how to describe how I feel about it quite yet," Elder-Bush said. "This year was fun. It was really great to have a team with this much talent in my last year. I was definitely happy being able to be a senior on this team in particular, and I'm definitely happy with the way I got to close things out."

As these two seniors say farewell to the Banks and the Knights put this season behind them, they are looking ahead to next year with eager eyes.

"One of the significant accomplishments at the Big East Tournament was the inspired play, especially from sophomores Christine Tran and Katherine Arlak," Bucca said. "It brought out some of their best tennis in their athletic careers, and so the future is bright for Rutgers not only with three strong incoming freshman, but with the end of season play from our returning players."

(C) 2008 Daily Targum via UWIRE