Rain Limits Play on First Day of ITA South Regionals
10/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA ?? Inclement weather limited the first day of the 2006 Wilson/ITA Fall South Regional Championships to only the first round of the flight A singles.
The original schedule included the first two rounds of both the flight A and B singles draws, but a rainstorm forced the tournament to move inside to the University of Alabama's Hank Crisp Indoor Tennis Facility. The indoor center holds only four courts whereas the outdoor facility and recreation center combine for 24 courts.
The first day saw 15 of the 16 seeds advance to the second round. The biggest upset was Florida's Megan Alexander knocking off 15th-seeded Fani Chifchieva of Auburn in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Top-seeded Kristi Miller of Georgia Tech defeated Central Florida's Anna Yakimchenkova in straight sets 6-0, 6-4.
Four Alabama players competed on the first day. Shelley Godwin got the lone win of the day when she won easily in straight sets against Gabriela Duch of South Florida 6-3, 6-1. Godwin jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first set but Duch rallied to make it 4-3. However, Godwin won the next two points to take the set. She then scored four unanswered points after taking an early 2-1 lead, closing out the match for a 6-1 second-set victory. Godwin advances to the second round where she will face sixth-seeded Adriana Solarova of South Alabama who won 6-0, 6-0 in her first match.
"My match was good," said Godwin. "I have been struggling so to get back in a rhythm and play at home felt great. I am very pleased. Everything came together. I just need to keep the same energy and attitude for tomorrow. There is still a lot of work to do."
Sofia Ayala, Nicole Briceno and Mari Muller all suffered losses in the first round. Ayala squared off against Nicola Slater of Florida State. The first set went back-and-forth but it was Slater who closed it out for a 6-4 win. The second set featured much the same with the two players exchanging points. However, it was Slater pulling through at the end with a 7-5 win for the match. Ayala will face Claudia Strauss in the first round of the consolation bracket on Friday. Briceno lost in straight sets to Georgia State's Dariana Kozmina 6-0, 6-0. Briceno will face Georgia's Naoko Ueshima in the consolation round.
Muller was down 40-love on the first point of her match against Central Florida's Elvi Serrot but came back to win the point. Muller could not keep her momentum going, however, as Serrot won six straight points to take the first set. Muller came back strong in the second set by earning the first point, only this time she kept the momentum and jumped out 4-0 before eventually winning the set 6-2 to force a third and final set. This time Serrot won the first point only to see Muller bounce back to win two straight. Muller was ahead 3-2 before Serrot went on a surge to win four straight points to emerge with a 6-3 victory for the match. Muller will drop in to the consolation bracket where she will face Vanessa Sanchez of North Florida on Friday.
"Today we had a lot of opportunities," said head coach Jenny Mainz. "A lot of times it comes down to just a few hand-picked points, which are the big points, and as we progress through the season we will begin to play the big points better. I think it is being ready to play every point and compete on every point, the first point of the game and the first point of the set. This region is so competitive and we are playing people who don't always give you the opportunities, you have to create them.
We had a great start to the day. That was the best Shelley has played all season. She played very commanding, she played with a lot of confidence and that was the best I have seen her move. Sofia also competed very well but she needs for matches and more competitive experience. Mary competed very hard. She was real anxious at the beginning and dug herself a hole but did a good job of fighting back."
The second day of competition will open at 8 a.m. with the opening two rounds of doubles for flights A and B. It will be followed by the first round of the flight B singles and second round of both flights. The day will be capped off by the first round of consolation singles. The tournament is being hosted by the University of Alabama and will run through Sunday.
