Trinity Wins Singles and Doubles Championships at ITA Regionals

SAN ANTONIO - The Trinity Tigers swept the singles and doubles titles Sunday at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Women's Southwest Region Championships.

Top-seeded Katy Poettcker, a junior, beat first-year teammate Thavindra Ekanayake, seeded fifth, 6-1, 6-2 in the singles final played at Delavan Tennis Stadium.

Earlier in the day at the rain-delayed tournament, the second-seeded team of Poettcker and Ekanayake defeated top seeds Lisa Mertz and Brittany Brazell of Hardin-Simmons 6-3, 7-5 in the doubles championship match. The Trinity duo were trailing 1-5 in the second set when they rallied to win six straight games and the regional crown.

Poettcker, a regional semifinalist in 2008, will represent Trinity in singles at the ITA National Small College Championships Oct. 15-18 at Mobile, Ala. She will be joined by Ekanayake in the doubles competition.

In Sunday's singles semifinals - an all Trinity show - Poettcker won a hard-fought 6-7 (9), 6-4, 10-7 (tiebreak) match against first-year teammate Katie Budinsky. Ekanayake beat Tiger sophomore Katie Griffith, the No. 2 seed, 1-6, 6-3, 10-3 (tiebreak). Griffith was a regional singles finalist last year.