NEW ORLEANS, La. -- East Carolina was bumped into the loser's bracket by top-seeded and nationally ranked Tulane on Sunday, falling 4-0 in the second round of the double-elimination Conference USA Women's Tennis Tournament.

The Lady Pirates, which entered the tourney as the No. 9 seed and upset No. 8 seed UAB on Saturday, were unable to score a victory against the Green Wave, which was ranked 28th in the nation before this weekend.

ECU will face No. 11 seed Cincinnati on Monday at 3 p.m. in an elimination match. The Bearcats lost to No. 6 seed Louisville, 4-3, on Saturday and eliminated No. 14 seed Southern Miss, 4-0, on Sunday.

The Lady Pirates battled Tulane tough in doubles play, falling 8-2 and 8-4 in flights two and three, respectively. The third doubles match was made unnecessary as Tulane clinched the doubles point.

In singles, ECU suffered straight-set losses at flights one, four, and five with Nancy Kockott's 6-0, 6-0 win over Emily Kohl at five providing the clinching point.

East Carolina falls to 14-8 on the season and still is within two victories of matching the school record for most team wins in a season.

(1) Tulane 4, (9) East Carolina 0
Conference USA Tournament – Sunday, April 13, 2003 – New Orleans, La. (Tulane)

Doubles
1) # 9 Smekodub/Kuhn (Tulane) vs. Baicu/Jordan (East Carolina), DNF
2) Ivanov/ Kockott (Tulane) def. Buchanan/Sierpinski (East Carolina), 8-2
3) Valdes/Saaibi (Tulane) def. Kohl/Meilicke (East Carolina), 8-4

Singles
1) #56 Jenny Kuhn (Tulane) def. Kirstin Buchanan (East Carolina), 6-1, 6-0
2) Maria Ivanov (Tulane) vs. Lyndall Jordan (East Carolina), DNF
3) # 103 Erika Valdes (Tulane) vs. Raluca Baicu (East Carolina), DNF
4) Ana Saaibi (Tulane) def. Paulina Sierpinski (East Carolina), 6-1, 6-0
5) Nancy Kockott (Tulane) def. Emily Kohl (East Carolina), 6-0, 6-0
6) Lucy Wood (Tulane) vs. Cristina Meilicke (East Carolina), DNF