Without question, the most successful program in the nationally recognized athletic department at the University of Mary Washington, women’s tennis added another chapter to its storied tradition in 2005-06, claiming the Capital Athletic Conference championship en route to its eighth straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. That appearance marks the twenty-first time in the 25-year history of the NCAA Championships that the Eagles have participated.
An excellent recruiting class provided head coach Patrick Catullo with a deep squad that finished with 15 wins, the most in the program in ten years. The Eagles, playing a much tougher schedule than in recent years, scored impressive victories over Kenyon College and George Mason University, before sweeping three matches from Occidental, Cal Lutheran, and Pomona-Pitzer in California over Spring break. A 7-2 win over Washington College procluded three losses to nationally-ranked opponents, including 5-4 narrow defeats to eighth-ranked Williams College and #14 Carnegie Mellon University.
The Eagles then reeled off three straight wins, including a 7-2 win over Muhlenberg College. After a 5-4 loss to Swarthmore, the Eagles regrouped to dispose of Salisbury, 9-0, and then split a pair of matches in Atlanta, GA, against nationally-ranked Emory University and Rhodes College.
The Eagles then breezed through the 2006 Capital Athletic Conference tournament, defeating St. Mary’s College and Salisbury by 7-0 scores in the team’s third straight conference title run.
UMW was matched up with top-ranked Washington & Lee University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and despite a 5-0 setback, several positive signs were evident, including the play of Stephanie Kurti, the CAC Rookie of the Year, who was ahead, one set to none at completion of the match, as well as the play of fellow freshmen Amy Sheetz, Rebecca Morse-Karzen, and Kate Malpeli.
With that quartet returning, as well as veterans in CAC Player of the Year Katie Miglin and All-CAC selection Natalia Fugate, the Eagles should carry a strong presence in 2006-07. Another cause for excitement is the second recruiting class of alumnus Patrick Catullo, who guided Broward Community College to the 2003 and 2004 National Junior College Athletic Association national championships, and brings that success level to his alma mater.
The excitement also surrounds a brand new six-court indoor center - the University Tennis Center - which opened in 2005-06. With a top rate facility, a top coach
a with national championship pedigree, and a tradition of excellence dating back over the past 25-plus years, the University of Mary Washington looks to strengthen its position as one of the elite women’s tennis programs in all of NCAA Division III.