Tulane University
Memphis Collegiate Invitational
Women's Tennis Opens 2010-11 Season In Dominant Fashion
Sep 17, 2010 | Women's Tennis
Sept. 17, 2010
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Tulane University women's tennis team opened the 2010-11 season in dominant fashion as the Green Wave went 8-1 in singles play and 7-1 in doubles action in the day one of the 2010 String 'n Swing Memphis Collegiate Invitational at The Racquet Club of Memphis.
All four of the Tulane's doubles teams earned first-round victories and three advance to their respective draws' championship matches, which are slated for Saturday morning. The 18 individual wins marks the Wave's best start to a season since returning to the court in 2007.
"It's the best opening day in the three years that I've been here," Tulane head women's tennis coach Terri Sisk said. "In fact, it's the best opening day in my 10 years as a coach. Now, they're all tucked in bed and they're preparing tonight for tomorrow's matches. We're just looking to continue the run that we had. We're looking to play well and have another great day for Tulane.
"I've got a team mostly of juniors and you'd like to think that by their junior year things are starting to come together for them - that all the little things we talk about are making sense. Every year they do this and they understand teamwork. They understand total team effort and they're honestly becoming a better team. They're working hard and they're focused."
The Green Wave came roaring out of the gates in doubles play as the tandem of Mariam Kurdadze and Emma Levy defeated Evansville's Kate Chybowski and Theadora in the A1 Outdoor Draw while Elizabeth Hamlin and Hila Elster downed Kara Jackson and Danielle Hanson of Lipscomb in the A2 Outdoor Draw by the same score. The duo of Katherine Cecil and Lindsay Dvorak followed suit in B1 Indoor play, rolling past Arkansas State's Jenny Herring and Menna Kamal, 8-3, while Jessica Lange and Sharon Siegel did the same in the B2 Indoor Draw over Madelyn Walker and Natalie Friend, 8-1.
The tandems of Kurdadze/Levy, Hamlin/Elster and Lange/Siegel each advanced to the championship rounds with wins over Ole Miss' Laura van de Stroet and Vivian Vlaar, Belmont's Laura Stack and Abby Leatherwood, and Tennessee-Martin's Jodie Tiley and Katie McCall, respectively.
In singles action, Kurdadze defeated Emily Crowe of Arkansas State in A1 Outdoor Flight (2-6, 7-5, 6-1) while Dvorak and Marcela Fonseca also posted three-set victories respective wins over Keterina Gresova of Georgia State in A4 Outdoor (2-6, 6-3, 6-3) and Pin Sorensen of Evansville in B2 Indoor (4-6, 7-6 [7-4], 7-5). Hamlin swept Lipscomb's Elizabeth Keevil in A3 Outdoor with a pair of 6-2 decisions, Elster downed Tennessee-Martin's Anna Marie Herbold - 6-0, 6-1 - and Cecil recorded consecutive 6-1 victories over Lipscomb's Alyssa Bellini in B1 Indoor. Lange won 6-0, 6-1 over Arkansas State's Tina Odjanic in B3 Indoor while Siegel wrapped up the Green Wave wins with a 6-4, 7-5 nod over Abilene Christian's Madelyn Walker - 6-4, 7-5.
"We had a team meeting last night when we got to the hotel and we really discussed our goals yet again," Sisk said. "One of our main goals was to come out and be a very dominant team. I told the girls that `Dominance starts in the warm-up, in your stretching and all your routines because that's where your preparation begins. That's the team you have to be today. You guys are no longer looked at as a start-up program. You're no longer a Katrina team. Now, I've got upperclassmen on the squad and you need to behave that way and play that way.'
"Basically, I challenged them to really step up today and impose their will on all the teams they played today, whether it was singles or doubles, and I think everybody can honestly say that winning 15 of 17 matches with a loss in three sets and 9-7 doubles loss, we can truly say that was dominance."
The lone singles loss game in the A2 Outdoor Flight were Levy fell to UT-Martin's Tilley in three (6-2, 2-6, 6-4) and the Green Wave's only doubles defeat came in the second round of the B1 Indoor Flight where Cecil and Dvorak came up just short against Georgia State's Tereza Lerova and Kir Kemp, 9-7.
Day two of the String 'n Swing Memphis Collegiate Invitational will start at 9 a.m. with the second round of singles and the final doubles matches are slated to get under way at 12:30 p.m. The Memphis Collegiate Invitational will conclude on Sunday with final singles matches at 9 a.m.
Following the Memphis Collegiate Invitational, the Green Wave return to action on Friday, Sept. 24, when they begin play in the three-day Roberta Alison Fall Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Alison Classic is the second of five team tournaments Tulane is slated to participate in during the fall season as the Wave will also play in the Rice Classic from Oct. 8-10 in Houston, the ITA Regional Championship from Oct. 22-24 in Birmingham, Ala., and the Lakewood Ranch Clay Court Classic on Nov. 12-14 in Tampa, Fla.
RESULTS FROM DAY ONE OF THE MEMPHIS COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
SINGLES
A1 Outdoor: Mariam Kurdadze (Tulane) def. Emily Crowe (Arkansas State) - 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
A2 Outdoor: Jodie Tiley (Tennessee-Martin) def. Emma Levy (Tulane) - 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
A3 Outdoor: Elizabeth Hamlin (Tulane) def. Elizabeth Keevil (Lipscomb) - 6-2, 6-2
A4 Outdoor: Lindsay Dvorak (Tulane) def. Katerina Gresova (Georgia State) - 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
A5 Outdoor: Hila Elster (Tulane) def. Anna Marie Herbold (Tennessee-Martin) - 6-0, 6-1
B1 Indoor: Katherine Cecil (Tulane) def. Alyssa Bellini (Lipscomb) - 6-1, 6-1
B2 Indoor: Marcela Fonseca (Tulane) def. Pin Sorensen (Evansville) - 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
B3 Indoor: Jessica Lange (Tulane) def. Tina Odjanic (Arkansas State) - 6-0, 6-1
B4 Indoor: Sharon Siegel (Tulane) def. Madelyn Walker (Abilene Christian) - 6-4, 7-5
DOUBLES
First Round
A1 Outdoor: Mariam Kurdadze / Emma Levy (Tulane) def. Kate Chybowski / Theadora Kotsiou (Evansville) - 8-1
A2 Outdoor: Elizabeth Hamlin / Hila Elster (Tulane) def. Kara Jackson / Danielle Hanson (Lipscomb) - 8-1
B1 Indoor: Katherine Cecil / Lindsay Dvorak (Tulane) def. Jenny Herring / Menna Kamal (Arkansas State) - 8-3
B2 Indoor: Jessica Lange / Sharon Siegel (Tulane) vs. Madelyn Walker / Natalie Friend (Abilene Christian) - 8-1
Second Round
A1 Outdoor: Mariam Kurdadze / Emma Levy (Tulane) def. Laura van de Stroet / Vivian Vlaar (Ole Miss) - 8-6
A2 Outdoor: Elizabeth Hamlin / Hila Elster (Tulane) def. Laura Stack / Abby Leatherwood (Belmont) - 8-4
B1 Indoor: Tereza Lerova / Kir Kemp (Georgia State) def. Katherine Cecil / Lindsay Dvorak (Tulane) - 9-7
B2 Indoor: Jessica Lange / Sharon Siegel (Tulane) def. Jodie Tiley / Katie McCall (Tennessee-Martin) - 8-5
Players Mentioned
