FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Haverford College women's tennis team sent six individuals to compete at USTA-ITA Southeast Regional Women's Tennis Championship which opened on Saturday at the University of Mary Washington. The Fords had four singles players that also teamed up to make two doubles teams in the championship draw. Haverford also entered two singles players in the "Blue" draws. Those two also combined to make up a doubles team in the "Blue" doubles draw.
Highlighting the action on day one of the regional tournament was the "Blue" 3 doubles team of Courtney Ahmed teaming up with Jessica Liu to win both of their matches together and advanced to the semifinals that will be contested tomorrow morning. Ahmed and Liu won both of their matches on Saturday by doubling up on their opposition with identical 8-4 scores in both the round of 16 and the quarterfinals. In the opening round, they knocked off St. Mary's Chelsea English and Anna Passaniti.
Ahmed and Liu punched their tickets to the quarterfinals with a with over Bridgewater's team of Shannon Quinn and Leanne Smithers. Those two will be back on the court tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. to battle Grove City's Julie Becker and Janine Jones for a spot in the Blue 3 Doubles championship match.
Liu also won her opening singles match at Blue 3 Singles with a hard-fought 7-5 opening set win before cruising to a 6-1 win in the second for a straight set victory against Christopher Newport's Kristi Wong in the round of 16 before falling in her quarterfinal. Both Liu and Ahmed will be back in action Sunday morning for the consolation draw of their respective singles draws.
In the championship bracket, Greta Koch opened the day for the Fords with a thrilling three-set victory in the round of 64. Koch did not concede a game to Shenandoah's Molly Barb in her first collegiate set. However, Barb would even the match with a 6-2 win in the second set. In the decisive third set, Koch turned that 6-2 score around in her favor to move into the round of 32 before she would fall to Michelle Fleenor of Carnegie Mellon.
The Fords three other singles players in the championship draw all dropped their round of 64 matches as No. 9 Caitlin Gallagher, Robyn Himelstein, and Abby Payson will join Koch tomorrow in the consolation singles draw. In doubles, the pairings of Gallagher/Payson and Himelstein/Koch will also be in action in the consolation doubles draw after defeats in the round of 32.
A complete list of today's results along with each player's next opponent is available in the summary below.
Haverford Summary Results
Caitlin Gallagher (No. 9 seed Championship Singles)
Champ Round of 64: Lost vs. Katie Lai (Carnegie Mellon), 6-2, 6-2
Cons. First Round: vs. Mackenzie Smith (Mary Washington) (Sunday, 12 p.m.)
Robyn Himelstein (Championship singles)
Champ Round of 64: Lost vs. Claire Dockrill (Christopher Newport), 6-3, 7-6 (8)
Cons. First Round: vs. Paige Weinberg (Mary Washington) (Sunday, 1 p.m.)
Greta Koch (Championship Singles)
Champ Round of 64: Won vs. Molly Barb (Shenandoah), 6-0, 2-6, 6-2
Champ Round of 32: Lost vs. Michelle Fleenor (Carnegie Mellon), 6-1, 6-1
Cons. Second Round: vs. TBA (Sunday, TBA)
Abby Payson (Championship Singles)
Champ Round of 64: Lost vs. Shannon Herndon (Johns Hopkins), 6-0, 6-3
Cons. First Round: Kaitlyn Pellegrino (Elizabethtown) (Sunday, 11:30 a.m.)
Caitlin Gallagher/Abby Payson (Championship Doubles)
Champ Round of 32: Lost vs. Chrissy Gaul/Anna Scheibmeir (Mary Washington), 8-3
Cons. First Round: vs. Maria Hawkins/Marla O'Bryan (Bridgewater) (Sunday, 8 a.m.)
Robyn Himelstein/Greta Koch (Championship Doubles)
Champ Round of 32: Lost vs. No. 5 Meghan Buell/Brooke Donnelly (Washington & Lee), 8-2
Cons. First Round: vs. Sydney Diamond/Joana Nunes (Dickinson) (Sunday, 8 a.m.)
Courtney Ahmed (Blue 1 Singles)
Champ Round of 16: Lost vs. Joana Nunes (Dickinson), 6-2, 6-3
Cons. First Round: vs. Allison Lutz (Salisbury) (Sunday, 11:30 a.m.)
Jessica Liu (Blue 3 Singles)
Champ Round of 16: Won vs. Kristi Wong (Christopher Newport), 7-5, 6-1
Champ Quarterfinals: Lost vs. Karolina Lagerquist (Grove City), 6-1, 7-5
Cons. Second Round: vs. TBA (Sunday, TBA)
Courtney Ahmed/Jessica Liu (Blue 3 Doubles)
Champ Round of 16: Won vs. Chelsea English/Anna Passaniti (St. Mary's), 8-4
Champ Quarterfinals: Shannon Quinn/Leanne Smithers (Bridgewater), 8-4
Champ Semifinals: Julie Becker/Janine Jones (Grove City) (Sunday, 8 a.m.)