Sept. 21, 2008
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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Freshman Vera Shkundina cruised into the finals of the C2 singles flight, and two other Owls reached the consolation finals in their respective brackets as the Kennesaw State Women's Tennis team excelled for a second-straight day at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga's Steve Baras Fall Classic.
"We had some excellent matches today, and our women played well in every one of them," said Kennesaw State Head Coach Brandon Padgett. "I am very happy with the way we competed today."
Shkundina, playing in her first collegiate tournament, continued her streak of straight set singles wins on Saturday by beating Eastern Kentucky's Anouk Faure 6-1, 6-0 in the semi finals. She will face off with Southern Illinois' Vishakha Sheoran at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning in what should be a competitive final. Shkundina has dropped only nine games total in the event, while Sheoran has only lost 10.
"Vera played another excellent match today," added Padgett on his freshman's run to the finals. "This is the first time that we have had a player make the front draw finals in her first event since I took over this program."
Courtney Cox and Lindsay Dillon rebounded from disappointing opening-round losses, each earning victories to claim a spot in their consolation bracket finals. Cox swept Sarah Hanna of Mercer 7-6 (7), 6-1 to advance to the C1 consolation finals where she will face Lee's Kelli Miller at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Dillon won a pair of matches to advance to the C2 consolation finals. The sophomore from Fayetteville, Ga., breezed past UT-Martin's Julianne McMeen 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals before sweeping Lipscomb's Bowman 6-3, 6-4 in the semis. Dillon will take on Brianna Wishing of UTC at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning in the finals.
"I expect there to be some nerves tomorrow for all three players at the beginning of the finals," said Padgett. "I'm sure that will subside once they get into their matches."
The rest of the Owls didn't fare as well in singles action. Agatha Palider took the first set 7-6 (3) from Mercer's Stephanie Cohen in the C2 semifinals, but let the match get away as Cohen took the final two sets 6-1, 6-1. Freshman Morgan Carney also lost in the semifinals, falling 2-6, 3-6 to Dara Toulch of Memphis. Ayano Tanaka's tough start to the season continued on Saturday after she lost 3-6, 2-6 in her A1 singles consolation match.
Both of the remaining Owls doubles teams advanced to their respective semifinals with early wins on Saturday. Shkundina and Tanaka took down SIU's pairing of Flannery and Sheoran 8-5 in the quarters before getting knocked out 8-1 by Middle Tennessee State's number two-seeded duo of Chemin and Coffey in the semis.
Palider and Dillon won their quarterfinal match by default when Jacksonville State's team of Renesto and Wenzel withdraw due to an injury. They were denied their shot at a title after falling 8-5 to Murray State's top-seeded duo of Alvarez and Ottosen in their semi final match.
"The doubles that we played today was exciting and strong, even when we lost," concluded Padgett. "I'm thankful that our players have had a chance to gain some valuable experience."
Singles Results
A2-flight
Vera Shkundina def. Faure (EKU) 6-1, 6-1
B2-flight
Toulch (Memphis) def Morgan Carney 6-2, 6-3
C2-flight
Cohen (Mercer) def. Agatha Palider 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-1
C1-flight Consolation
Courtney Cox def. Hanna (Mercer) 7-6 (7), 6-1
C2-flight Consolation
Lindsay Dillon def. McMeen (UTM) 6-2, 6-2
Dillon def. Bowman (Lipscomb) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles Results
A2-flight
Quarterfinals
Shkundina/Tanaka def. Flannery/Sheoran (SIU) 8-5
#2 Seed-Chemin/Coffey (MTSU) def. Shkundina/Tanaka 8-1
B1-flight
Quarterfinals
#3 Palider/Dillon def. Renesto/Wenzel (Jacksonville St.) Injury default
#1 Alvarez/Ottosen (Murray St.) Def. #3-seed-Palider/Dillon 8-5
