Sept. 29, 2002

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.

Senior Vilmarie Castellvi of the University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis team lived up to her No. 1 ranking Sunday morning as she disposed of Duke's Amanda Johnson, the nation's 16th-ranked player, by a 6-1, 6-1 count in the finals of the A draw at the adidas Tournament in Peachtree City, Ga. Castellvi won all four of her matches over the weekend in straight sets and dropped only 11 games en route to the title.

Junior Tammy Encina also defeated a Blue Devil, upending Katie Granson, 6-4, 6-1, to reach the finals of the A draw consolation. Encina dropped a 6-4, 6-4 decision to No. 83 Alexis Gordon of Florida in the finals to close out the tournament with a 3-2 record.

In other consolation action, freshman Megan Kerr lost her match with Kristina Stastny of Notre Dame, 6-0, 6-0. Fellow Tennessee rookie Sabita Maharaj dropped her match with Northwestern's Jamie Peisel, 7-6, 6-2, as well.

"Overall, this was a good experience for us," said UT Co-Head Coach Sonia Hahn-Patrick. "We showed a lot of improvement as the tournament wore on."

The Lady Vols will host the St. Mary's Fall Classic next weekend. Play begins on Friday, Oct. 4, and concludes on Sunday, Oct. 6.

Singles-Draw A:
Vilmarie Castellvi (UT) def. Amanda Johnson (Duke) 6-1, 6-1

Singles-Draw A Consolation:
Tammy Encina (UT) def. Katie Granson (Duke) 6-4, 6-1
Alexis Gordon (Florida) def. Tammy Encina (UT) 6-4, 6-4

Other consolation matches:
Jamie Peisel (Northwestern) def. Sabita Maharaj (UT) 7-6, 6-2
Kristina Stastny (Notre Dame) def. Megan Kerr (UT) 6-0, 6-0