WILLIAMSBURG, Va. --- Virginia Tech freshman Christine Newman followed up her opening day success with another victory Saturday to advance to the Flight B finals at the 17th Annual William and Mary Invitational. The three-day event (Sept. 11-13) featuring players from 11 teams will be played throughout Williamsburg at the Busch Courts, the Recreation Courts and the Kiwanis Courts.
The flighted tournament includes players from East Tennessee State, Harvard, Marshall, Maryland, Richmond, Penn State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth, Winthrop and the host Tribe. The event is comprised of five singles flights and a trio of doubles flights.
Newman (Fr., Greensboro, N.C.), who upset the top seed in Flight B in the opening round on Friday, won a tough, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, semifinal over Hana Tomijanovic (Virginia) Saturday afternoon. She will face second seed Isabell Raich (Marshall) in Sunday’s 9:30 a.m, final. In the Flight B consolation semifinal, Courtney Rauscher (So., Evans, Ga.) dropped a, 6-3, 6-3, match against Alex Bara (Virginia Commonwealth) and will play Kelly Tidwell (Richmond) Sunday at 1 p.m. in another consolation match.
In the Flight A singles fifth place bracket, Martha Blakely (So., Reading, Pa.) lost, 6-1, 6-0, to No. 98 Yevgenia Stupak (East Tennessee State) while Yasmin Hamza (Jr., Cairo, Egypt) dropped a, 6-4, 6-2, decision to Ellszaveta Zaytseva (Winthrop) in the same bracket.
Shannon Betts (So., Newnan, Ga.) defeated Dominica Zaprazna (Marshall), 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (7) in the Flight C fifth place bracket and will take on Olena Leonchuk (Virginia Commonwealth) Sunday at 1:30 p.m. In Flight D consolation action, Katie Blow (So., Richmond, Va.) lost 7-5, 6-1, versus Sarah Henderson (Penn State) and will play Michaela Stracar (Penn State) in another consolation match Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
In Flight E, Megan Conley (Knoxville, Tenn.) received a bye into Sunday’s 10 a.m., final against Catherine Crystal (Richmond) match. Emily Lauten (Marietta, Ga.) defeated Kara Sheets (East Tennessee State), 6-7, 6-2, 1-0 (5), in the Flight E fifth-place bracket and will face Riley Blanks (Virginia) Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
In Flight A doubles action, Hamza/Lauten defeated Matuszcyk/Smyth (Richmond), 8-4, in the consolation quarterfinals then won, 8-6, over Norton/Rosekrans (Harvard) in the semis. The Tech duo will play Hardenbergh/Vierra (Virginia) in the Sunday finals at 8 a.m. Also in Flight A, Betts/Blakely defeated Brand/Hushke (Maryland), 8-5, in a consolation match before dropping a, 9-7, decision to the aforementioned Virginia pair. They will play Norton/Rosekrans (Harvard) Sunday at 8:45 a.m.
Blow/Conley lost, 8-3, to Henderson/Lotto (Penn State) in their Flight B consolation match and will play the mixed team of Blanks (UVa)/Krutiyenko (Maryland) Sunday at 8 a.m. Also in the consolation of Flight B, Newman/Rauscher defeated Blanks (Virginia)/Krutiyenko (Maryland), 8-3, and will play Grant/Tidwell (Richmond) in the consolation final Sunday at 8 a.m.
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