(Mobile, Ala.)---The SNU women's tennis team had a rough second round as they fell to Concordia, Calif., 5-0. Concordia was the four seed in the tournament and they were just too much for the Crimson Storm who ended a very successful season.

Concordia jumped out to an early start, winning all three doubles match ups. SNU's Deisi Bolivar and Steffie Plaza came the closest to notching a victory for SNU, falling 8-5. Concordia followed that up by winning their first two singles matches to move on to the quarterfinals.  

(Mobile, Ala.)---The SNU women's tennis team got off to a good start at the national tournament in Mobile, Ala., on Tuesday afternoon, with a 7-2 win over Sioux Falls. 

SNU was able to take four of the six singles matches, with Olga Kozhevnikova, Deisi Bolivar, Steffie Plaza, and Viktoryia Lukinova picking up victories. In the doubles matches, SNU had no problems.

In the first doubles match, Kozhenvnikova and Lukinova won the first match, 9-8. Bolivar and Plaza followed that up with an 8-3 victory. Rounding out the doubles play, Sara Byrne and Hilary Gailbraith won the final match, 8-3. 

Tomorrow, SNU will face off with the no. 4 seed, Concordia, Calif., in their second round match up. Concordia had a first round bye. 

(Oklahoma City, Okla.)---The SNU women's tennis team competed in the Unaffiliated Regional Tournament this past weekend and they made a very impressive run to the finals. In the first round, they stormed through John Brown, 8-1. In their second match, they faced OBU, and won a toughly contested match, 5-4. They would eventually fall in the finals to Oklahoma Christian, 8-1.

Against John Brown, SNU won all three doubles matches and Sara Byrne, Olga Kozinikova, Deisi Bolivar, Steffy Plaza, and Viktoriya Likinova all won their singles matches. Allison White was narrowly defeated in a tie-breaker.

In their second round match up against Oklahoma Baptist, SNU won two of the three doubles matches. In the singles match ups, Kozinikova, Likinova, and Kimberly Wiedeman each won a closely contested match and that was enough to give SNU the 5-4 victory. 

That pushed the Crimson Storm on to the finals against a very tough opponent and school rival, Oklahoma Christian. OC was just too much for SNU as they won all three doubles matchups and all but one singles match. Likinova was the lone winner for SNU in the finals. Overall, the SNU women's tennis team performed very well and with just one senior on the team, they are poised to make another strong run next year.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---SNU has high hopes for the2010 Women’s Tennis season. Last year, SNU surprised many people on their wayto a very successful season. They were ranked in the top 25 all season long andfound their way up to #8 nationally by the end of the season. SNU posted a 16-2record last year, with one of those losses coming in the second round of thenational tournament. They won the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship.  



Senior Sara Byrne, a 5’7 senior fromFriendswood, Texas, will look to continue her success from last season. Byrnelost only one match all year last year during the regular season, posting a14-1 record. In the national tournament, she was the only SNU athlete to winher singles match in the second round loss. She should have another solidseason and is a huge asset to the Crimson Storm tennis team. 



Steffy Plaza, a 5’1 junior from Quito,Ecuador, is also back this year after a very impressive sophomore campaign.Plaza posted a 12-1 record last year during the regular season. After being astrong role player during her freshman season, Plaza stepped up to provide SNUwith a strong competitor last season. 


Also joining Byrne and Plaza in the one losscategory is Olga Kozhevnikova, a 5’1 junior from Krasnodar, Russia. Kozhevnikovatied Byrne in the singles win/loss record, posting a 14-1 record. She will alsobe a key component to SNU’s run for a National Championship this year.  



Kozhevnikova was also stellar in doubles playalong with now sophomore Hilary Galbraith. Kozhevnikova and Galbraith, a 5’5sophomore from Burkburnett, Texas, went 14-1 in doubles play during the regularseason last year.  



Another player on this year’s roster that willbe key in helping SNU accomplish their goals is Allison White, a 5’0 juniorfrom Bethany, Okla. They will also welcome two newcomers, Deisi Bolivar fromBogata, Columbia, who will make an immediate impact, and Kimberly Wiedeman fromYukon, Okla. 



SNU is coming off of their 7th straightnational tournament appearance and there is no signs that they won’t make 2010their 8th straight appearance. Expectations are high and SNU has a verysolid core to build an excellent season around. Coach White is pleased withthis year’s squad and believes they have a lot of potential and couldaccomplish very good things.

(KANSAS CITY, MO.)---The Southern Nazarene University women's tennis program placed three individuals on the NAIA Scholar Athlete list it was announced on Friday by the NAIA.  SNU's Steffie Plaza, Isabella Bauer, and Sara Byrne each earned Scholar Athlete honors for 2009.

Steffie Plaza, a sophomore from Quito, Ecuador, is an International Studies major.  Plaza finished the 2009 season with a 15-2 record in singles and was 12-5 overall in doubles action.

Isabella Bauer, a senior from Kollnbrunn, Austria, is a Business Administration major and finished her final season at SNU with a record of 5-10 at #1 singles and was 8-6 at #1 doubles in 2009.

Sara Byrne, a junior from Friendswood, Texas, is an Elementary Education major and finished her junior season with a record of 17-1 in singles action and a record of 12-5 in doubles play.

Overall, Southern Nazarene finished the season with a 16-2 record and were ranked 8th in the final NAIA National poll.  SNU earned the program's seventh consecutive trip to nationals in '09, bowing out in the second round.

NAIA Scholar Athlete's are nominated by the institutions head coach, and the student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have achieved junior academic status to qualify.