Oakland University

June 30, 2011

With its best ever finish in the Summit League, the Oakland University women's tennis team had one of the best seasons in recent memory in 2011. The Golden Grizzlies finished the year with a 6-10 record and had a 4-4 league record to finish tied for fourth in The Summit League.

"It was a great season for us," said Oakland head coach Heather Redshaw, "I am very proud of the way that our team battled in every match, especially in Summit League play."

After winning just one match in 2010, the Golden Grizzlies began the turnaround early in the year by beating Bradley in a tight 4-3 match to snap and 11-match losing streak dating back to the previous year. Every player in the lineup contributed with a win in singles or doubles.

Oakland carried its good play into the start of league play, winning back-to-back matches over Centenary (7-0) and IUPUI (4-3) in the tennis cluster in Las Vegas, Nev. The Golden Grizzlies also won a pair of league games over South Dakota State (4-0) and Western Illinois (4-3) at the second Summit League cluster in Kansas City, Mo., where the team had to play five matches in three days.

The Golden Grizzlies finished the season at home with a 7-0 victory over Valparaiso on senior day. Seniors Jackie Dinicu and Amanda Petteyfinished their careers with wins in both singles and doubles. Pettey's efforts over the final weekend earned her Summit League Player of the Week honors, making her only the fifth player in the history of OU tennis to earn the award.

Pettey finished the season with a 6-3 record as Oakland's No. 6 singles player and posted a 3-1 record in league play. Dinicu finished the year 4-10 as OU's No. 2 singles player and was 3-5 in league matches. Dinicu also played strong doubles this season, posting a 4-7 record at No. 1 doubles along with partner Caitlin Young. The duo were 2-4 in Summit League matches. Pettey also posted a 4-7 doubles record at No. 3 doubles with her partner Grace Keating.

Young paced Oakland at the No. 1 singles position, with a 4-12 record in dual matches and a 3-5 league record. Keating, a freshman, was 5-8 at No. 4 singles with a 4-4 Summit League record.

Karen Karoub had a winning record of 7-6 at No. 3 singles for the year and was 3-4 in Summit League play for OU. Demi Georgakopoulos posted a 4-8 record at the No. 5 singles spot and was 2-5 in Summit League matches. Karoub and Georgakopoulos partnered at the No. 2 doubles position and had a 3-9 record, including a 2-3 mark in league play. Kristin Karoubalso played with OU, seeing action at No. 3 and No. 6 singles and at No. 1 doubles.

Despite ending the year tied with two other teams for fourth place, Oakland fell just short of qualifying for The Summit League Tournament due to the three-way tiebreaker scenarios within the league.

"While we were certainly disappointed not to win the tiebreakers and make it into the tournament, this was still as successful season," said Redshaw. "This year was a lot of fun and is a great starting point for more success next season."

-OAKLAND-