Jan. 28, 2010

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - After winning its fifth title in the past six seasons in a year ago, Richmond has been selected to repeat as Atlantic 10 women's tennis champion in 2010 in voting conducted by the league's head coaches.

Temple, which finished runner-up last season and captured the 2008 crown, is picked second, while Charlotte is third.

Richmond welcomes back All-Conference first-team selections Erin Clark and Kelly Tidwell, as well as All-Conference second-team pick Helen Cunningham. Clark, a senior, posted a combined 13 victories in singles and doubles play in 2009, while Tidwell, a junior, went undefeated in her three matches at the A-10 Championship. Cunningham is looking to build on a strong freshman campaign as she heads into the 2010 season.

Temple is led by seniors Anastasiia Rukavyshnykova and Elyse Steiner, who both garnered first-team All-Conference distinction in 2009. Rukavyshnykova went 13-4 in singles play last season and at one point racked up a 12-match winning streak. Steiner compiled an 11-8 record while playing at No. 1 singles for the Owls.

Ana Spivakovsky is the top returner for Charlotte. The senior was a first-team All-Conference selection in 2009, when she went 15-3 in doubles play and 7-2 in singles action. She is joined by fellow seniors Candace Cunningham and Kimber Redfern in the 49ers' quest to improve upon its third-place finish at last year's Championship.

Xavier is picked fourth, followed by Massachusetts, Saint Louis, George Washington, Duquesne, Rhode Island, Dayton, Saint Joseph's, Fordham, St. Bonaventure and La Salle.

The 2010 A-10 Women's Tennis Championship will be held April 23-25 at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis, Mo.

2010 Predicted Order of Finish
(2009 A-10 Championship finish in parentheses)
1. Richmond (1st)
2. Temple (2nd)
3. Charlotte (3rd)
4. Xavier (4th)
5. Massachusetts (6th)
6. Saint Louis (5th)
7. George Washington (Tie-9th)
8. Duquesne (Tie-7th)
9. Rhode Island (Tie-7th)
10. Dayton (Tie-9th)
11. Saint Joseph's (Tie-11th)
12. Fordham (Tie-11th)
13. St. Bonaventure (Tie-13th)
14. La Salle (Tie-13th)