Women's tennis finishes strong at Blue & Gray Classic
09/13/2009 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
Sept. 13, 2009
By Michael Benson
www.SIUSalukis.com
Montgomery, Ala. - The Saluki women's tennis team rebounded from a rough Friday by notching two third place finishes and two consolation championships on the final day of the Blue and Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
Freshman Jennifer Dien turned in an impressive performance at the tournament, as she rebounded from an earlier loss to defeat Lindsey Mallory of Samford (7-6, 6-2) to earn third place in Singles Flight #5. Meanwhile, on the doubles side, Dien garnered SIU's other third place finish, as she teamed up with Jessica Flannery to take down Samford's Beth Erwin and Rebecca Kirven, 8-4, in Doubles Flight #3.
Martina Ce also had a remarkable Saturday in Montgomery, as she prevailed over UAB's Rachel Cohen (6-4, 6-0) and Kennesaw State's Lindsey Dillon (6-1, 6-0) to win Singles Flight #7's consolation championship. For doubles, Ce paired with Vishakha Sheoran to take down Alena Sergeychik and Vera Shkundina, also of Kennesaw State, to win the consolation final in Doubles Flight #1.
"This was a great tournament for us," remarked head coach Audra Nothwehr. "Each person got a lot of matches. That's exactly what you look for at the start of your fall season."
"Overall, I thought we played better the second day than the first. Doubles was shaky on day one because we haven't practiced a lot, but by the third match, all three teams were looking a lot better."
Saturday results:
Doubles:
Flight #1 (Gold)
Sheoran/Ce beat Shkundina/Sergeychik - Kennesaw State to win the Consolation Final
Flight #2 (Silver)
Michela Cruise/Emily Whitney beat Cammie Gray/March - West Florida (8-4) to get 7th place
Flight #3 (Bronze)
Dien/Flannery beat Kirven/Erwin - Samford (8-4) to get 3rd place
Singles:
Flight #1 (Orange)
Sheoran beat Abby Leatherwood - Belmont (6-1, 6-1)
Sheoran lost to Taylor Morgan - Samford (6-0, 6-1) for 8th place
Flight #2 (White)
Whitney lost to Andrie Meiring - Samford (3-6, 2-6)
Whitney won by default to Sergeychik - Kennesaw State to get 7th place
Flight #3 (Black)
Flannery lost to Stephanie Parkinson - Samford (6-1, 4-6, (10-4))
Flannery beat Lindsey Bennett - Belmont (6-2, 6-0) to get 7th place
Flight #5 (Purple)
Dien lost to Ayana Tanaka - Kennesaw State (6-3, 6-2)
Dien beat Lindsey Mallory - Samford (7-6, 6-2) to get 3rd place
Flight #6 (Blue)
Cruise beat Jolene Wong - Brenau (6-2, 6-0)
Cruise lost to Catherine Holliday - Belmont (6-3, 6-0) to get 8th place
Flight #7 (Pink)
Ce beat Rachel Cohen - UAB (6-4, 6-0)
Ce beat Lindsey Dillon - Kennesaw State (6-1, 6-0) to win the Consolation Final
Players Mentioned
