Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Tech women’s tennis team had success in the morning doubles competition Saturday, but struggled in the afternoon singles on the second day of the 16th Annual Hokie Fall Invitational. The event features 65 players from 10 teams and is being played at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on the Virginia Tech campus. Both the indoor and outdoor courts are being utilized during the tournament with play beginning at 9 a.m. Admission is free.
The tournament features players from Albany, Appalachian State, Davidson, East Tennessee State, Elon, Marshall, Radford, Tennessee Tech, Winthrop and Virginia Tech. The tournament includes participants from 20 countries around the globe.
In Flight A doubles, Martha Blakely (So., Reading, Pa.)/Holly Johnson (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.) won two tight matches to advance to Sunday’s final. The Tech duo won a tight, 9-8 (8), contest over Kristina Koprcina/Thaddea Lock (Marshall) in their first match, then edged Paula Jamie/Karina Kedzo (East Tennessee State), 8-6. They will face Michaela Kissell/Dominika Zaprazna (Marshall) in the 9 a.m. final. Katie Blow (So., Richmond, Va.)/Yasmin Hamza (Jr., Cairo, Egypt) won their first Flight A match, 8-1, against Livian Gherman/Susan Ma (Albany), but lost, 8-3, to Kissel/Zaprazna (Marshall). The Tech pair will play Jaime/Kedzo (East Tennessee State) in the third-place match at 9 a.m.
Shannon Betts (So., Newman, Ga.)/Courtney Rauscher (So., Evans, Ga.) advanced to the Flight B finals with a couple of wins. The tandem defeated Ali Gomes/Teresa Wang (Davidson), 8-2, in the quarterfinals and battled their way to a, 8-6, win over Catherine Kellner/Isabell Raich (Marshall). The pair faces Deanna Bailey/Kara Kucin (Marshall) in the 9 a.m. final. Also in Flight B, Emily Lauten (Fr., Marietta, Ga.)/Christin Newman (Fr., Greensboro, N.C.) won, 8-6, over the mixed pair of Katharine Dicconson (Davisdon)/Paula Pereira (Winthrop), but lost by the same score versus Bailey/Kucin (Marshall). They will face Kellner/Raich (Marshall) for third place at 9 a.m.
In Flight A singles action, Christin Newman (Fr., Greensboro, N.C.) lost her semifinal, 6-1, 6-2, against 36th-ranked Michaela Kissell (Marshall). Newman will play Anna Milian (Elon) in the third-place bracket at 10:30 a.m. Elsewhere in Flight A, Hamza defeated Ivana Tomaic (Radford), 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (4), in the fifth-place bracket and will battle Ellie Linsell (Appalachian State) at 10:30 a.m. Blakely advanced to the main consolation final with a walkover against injured Lisa Wilkinson (Winthrop) and has an 11:30 a.m. match versus Catherine Kellner (Marshall)
Rauscher was forced to retire in the Flight B semifinal with a back injury against Kristina Koprcina (Marshall) with the score 6-7 (4), 5-0. If able, she will face Diana Novrostskaya (East Tennessee State) in the third-place match at 10:30 a.m. In the same flight, Betts defeated Jennifer Ansari (Appalachian State), 7-5, 6-2, and takes on Kelly Holtzhausen (East Tennesse State) in the 10:30 a.m. fifth-place contest.
Blow defeated Laura Graybill (Elon), 6-0, 6-1, in the Flight C consolation and will play again on Sunday morning against an undetermined opponent. Lauten dropped here Flight D semifinal, 7-6 (6), 6-4, to Victoria Cran (Tennessee Tech) and will play Paula Pereira (Winthrop) in the 11:30 a.m. third-place match.