TOP FOUR SEEDS REACH SEMIFINALS OF CAA WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
NORFOLK, Va. (April 22, 2011) – The top four seeds posted convincing victories and advanced to the semifinals of the Virginia 529 College Savings Plan CAA Women’s Tennis Championship on Friday at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center on the campus of Old Dominion University.
In quarterfinal action, top-seeded William & Mary beat #9 Drexel, 4-0, #2 VCU downed #7 James Madison, 4-0, #3 Georgia State got past #6 Delaware, 4-0, and #4 UNC Wilmington defeated #5 Old Dominion, 4-1.
UNCW jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead with a pair of strong performances in doubles. The Seahawks’ number three tandem of Chelsea Kahle and Kelly Cameron posted an 8-1 win over ODU’s Margarita Belyakova and Arina Alilueva and UNCW’s number two duo of Christina Lee and Lindsay Leblang were 8-3 victors over Diana Ivanova and Juliana Pires.
The Seahawks extended their advantage to 3-0 when Cameron topped Pires, 6-1, 6-1 at number four singles and Leblang beat Nika Khmolovska, 6-1, 6-1, at number six. The Lady Monarchs earned their point at number one when CAA Player of the Year Joanna Dobrowolska defeated Olga Blank, 6-1, 6-3, but the Seahawks closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph by Chelsea Kahle over Margarita Belyakova at number five.
W&M gave up just two games in winning the doubles point from Drexel. The Tribe’s Katie Kargl and Marlen Mesgarzadeh were 8-0 winners over Elise Leizerovich and Emma Brook at number two and W&M’s number three pair of Lauren Sabacinski and Jeltje Loomans beat Gozde Unkaya and Alex Bell, 8-2.
The Tribe continued their strong play in singles. Mesgarzadeh defeated Stosic, 6-2, 6-1 at number two, Kargl shut out Brook, 6-0, 6-0, at number four and Anik Cepeda clinched the W&M victory at number three with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Zeynep Mafa.
VCU grabbed the lead over James Madison by capturing the doubles point. The Rams’ top team of Kateryna Yergina and Alex Bara topped the Dukes’ Kinsey Pate and Michelle Nguyen, 8-2 and VCU’s Daria Yakauleva and Manuela Pietzuch were 8-3 victors against Megan Douglass and Jacqueline Palmucci at number three.
The Rams maintained their momentum in singles. Yakauleva knocked off Douglass, 6-2, 6-0, at number four, Yergina followed with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Pate at number one and Olga Terteac clinched the match by beating Katherine Bulling, 6-1, 6-2, at number five.
Georgia State overcame an early deficit to win the doubles point versus Delaware. The Blue Hens’ number three team of Ivana Petrich and Sophie Sjoberg-Sundstrom opened with an 8-0 victory against GSU’s Kir Kemp and Othilia Lindqvist. The Panthers won the other two matches, however, as the number one tandem of Abigail Tere-Apisah and Maryna Kozachenko beat UD’s Megan Doran and Samantha Carnall, 8-3, and GSU’s number two duo of Tereza Lerova and Katerina Gresova topped Dorothy Safron and Montse Ripoll, 8-4.
GSU secured the win with three straight-set victories in singles. Tere-Apisah rolled past Doran, 6-1, 6-1, at number one and Gresova also had a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Petrich at number four. The match culminated when Lerova beat Safron, 6-4, 6-1 at number two.
In Saturday’s semifinals, #4 UNC Wilmington faces #1 William & Mary and #2 VCU takes on #3 Georgia State. Both matches will be played at 10 a.m.
2011 CAA WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP – Quarterfinals
Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center – Norfolk, Va.
#4 UNC Wilmington 4, #5 Old Dominion 1Singles
#1 Joanna Dobrowolska (ODU) d. Olga Blank (UNCW), 6-1, 6-3
#2 Christina Lee (UNCW) vs. Diana Ivanova (ODU) – DNF 7-5, 3-0
#3 Angie Sekely (UNCW) vs. Melissa Esnal Olguin (ODU) – DNF 4-6, 2-4
#4 Kelly Cameron (UNCW) d. Juliana Pires (ODU), 6-1, 6-1
#5 Chelsea Kahle (UNCW) d. Margarita Belyakova (ODU), 6-4, 6-3
#6 Lindsay Leblang (UNCW) d. Nika Khmolovska (ODU), 6-1, 6-1
Singles Order of Finish: 4, 6, 1, 5
Doubles
#1 Blank/Sekely (UNCW) vs. Dobrowolska/Esnal Olguin (ODU) – DNF 5-6
#2 Lee/Leblang (UNCW) d. Ivanova/Pires (ODU), 8-3
#3 Kahle/Cameron (UNCW) d. Belyakova/Arina Alilueva (ODU), 8-1
Doubles Order of Finish: 3, 2
#1 William & Mary 4, #9 Drexel 0Singles
#1 Hope Johnson (W&M) vs. Gozde Unkaya (DU) – DNF 6-3, 2-1
#2 Marlen Mesgarzadeh (W&M) d. Sonja Stosic (DU), 6-2, 6-1
#3 Anik Cepeda (W&M) d. Zeynep Mafa (DU), 6-2, 6-1
#4 Katie Kargl (W&M) d. Emma Brook (DU), 6-0, 6-0
#5 Marivick Mamiit (W&M) vs. Elise Leizerovich (DU) – DNF 6-3, 2-1
#6 Sydney Smith (W&M) vs. Alex Bell (DU) – DNF 6-2, 1-0
Singles Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3
Doubles
#1 Cepeda/Johnson (W&M) vs. Mafa/Stosic (DU) – DNF 5-4
#2 Kargl/Mesgarzadeh (W&M) d. Leizerovich/Brook (DU), 8-0
#3 Lauren Sabacinski/Jeltje Loomans (W&M) d. Unkaya/Bell (DU), 8-2
Doubles Order of Finish: 3, 2
#2 VCU 4, #7 James Madison 0Singles
#1 Kateryna Yergina (VCU) d. Kinsey Pate (JMU), 6-1, 6-2
#2 Josefin Hjertquist (VCU) vs. Michelle Nguyen (JMU) – DNF 6-2, 2-2
#3 Ana Bara (VCU) vs. Jacqueline Palmucci (JMU) – DNF 6-4, 3-0
#4 Daria Yakauleva (VCU) d. Megan Douglass (JMU), 6-2, 6-0
#5 Olga Terteac (VCU) d. Katherine Bulling (JMU), 6-1, 6-2
#6 Manuela Pietzuch (VCU) vs. Ruxandra Andriescu (JMU) – DNF 6-1, 4-1
Singles Order of Finish: 4, 1, 5
Doubles
#1 Yergina/Alex Bara (VCU) d. Pate/Nguyen (JMU), 8-2
#2 Hjertquist/Ana Bara (VCU) vs. Bulling/Andriescu (JMU) – DNF 6-4
#3 Yakauleva/Pietzuch (VCU) d. Douglass/Palmucci, 8-3
Doubles Order of Finish: 1, 3
#3 Georgia State 4, #6 Delaware 0Singles
#1 Abigail Tere-Apisah (GSU) d. Megan Doran (UD), 6-1, 6-1
#2 Tereza Lerova (GSU) vs. Dorothy Safron (UD), 6-4, 6-1
#3 Maryna Kozachenko (GSU) vs. Samantha Carnall (UD) – DNF 6-3, 2-6
#4 Katerina Gresova (GSU) d. Ivana Petrich (UD), 6-1, 6-1
#5 Kir Kemp (GSU) vs. Montse Ripoll (UD) – DNF 6-6
#6 Martina Ondrackova (GSU) vs. Sophie Sjoberg-Sundstrom (UD) – DNF 2-6, 0-4
Singles Order of Finish: 1, 4, 2
Doubles
#1 Tere-Apisah/Kozachenko (GSU) d. Doran/Carnall (UD), 8-3
#2 Lerova/Gresova (GSU) d. Safron/Ripoll (UD), 8-4
#3 Petrich/Sjoberg-Sundstrom (UD) d. Kemp/Othilia Lindqvist (GSU), 8-0
Doubles Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2