Tigu Lukomskaya to meet in quarterfinals
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas women’s tennis team continued its strong play in both singles and doubles action Friday at the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Championships at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla.
“There was a lot to be proud of out there today for the Hogs,” Arkansas coach Michael Hegarty said. “The goal now is obviously to try to bring back the singles and the doubles titles."
The doubles team of Anouk Tigu and Claudine Paulson, the No. 1 seed in the event, won twice to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round. Tigu and Paulson started the day with a dominating 8-1 win over Oklahoma State’s Alisa Buslaieva and Iryna Khatsko before defeating the Minnesota duo of Alexa Palen and Magdalena Wiecha, 8-6.
Tigu and Paulson will meet the unseeded Arkansas duo of Kate Lukomskaya and Kelsey Sundaram in the semifinal. Lukomskaya and Sundaram also picked up two wins on Friday, storming back from down 4-7 against Tulsa’s Rebecca Row and Marta Marcinkowska to win 9-7 and then beating highly-seeded Stephanie Dalmacio and Lutfiana Budiharto from Wichita State, 8-6. The third Arkansas duo of Emily Carbone and Valentina Starkova fell 8-6 to Jo Ann Karaitiana and Alexandra Kichoutkin from Tulsa.
The all-Arkansas semifinal guarantees one Hog doubles team will play for the regional doubles title for the fifth straight year. The winning doubles team advances to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in November.
In singles action, two of the three Arkansas players in the main draw advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinal round. No. 1 seed Tigu battled to a 6-3, 5-6, 6-2 victory over Alessandra Ferazzi of Minnesota while Lukomskaya dismantled Dalmacio 6-0, 6-2. Tigu and Lukomskaya will face off in the singles quarterfinal at 10 a.m. Saturday. The winner of that matchup will return to the courts for singles semifinal action at 1 p.m.
Carbone fell in her quarterfinal match against Ana-Maria Constantinescu of Oklahoma 6-2, 6-4.
In consolation singles play, Starkova won 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 over Tara Eckel of Oklahoma while Paulson beat Kansas State’s Nina Sertic 6-2, 6-2. Freshman Annemijn Koenen dropped her match 7-5, 6-0 to former Razorback Delia Damaschin, who is now competing for Wichita State. Damaschin was a member of the 2008 Arkansas who advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Results following Saturday’s action can be found immediately at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Wilson/ITA Central Region Women’s Championships
Friday, October 23, 2009
Main Draw Doubles
Round of 16
Tigu/Paulson (ARK) def. Buslaieva/Khatsko (OSU), 8-3
Lukomskaya/Sundaram (ARK) def. Marcinkowska/Row (TUL), 9-7
Karaitiana/Kichoutkin (TUL) def. Carbone/Starkova (ARK), 8-4
Quarterfinals
Tigu/Paulson (ARK) def. Palen/Weicha (MIN), 8-6
Lukomskaya/Sundaram (ARK) def. Marcinkowska/Row (TUL), 8-6
Main Draw Singles
Round of 16
Anouk Tigu (ARK) def. Alessandra Ferrazzi (MIN), 6-3, 5-6, 6-2
Kate Lukomskaya (ARK) def. Stephanie Dalmacio (WSU), 6-0, 6-3
Ana-Maria Constantinescu (OKL) def. Emily Carbone (ARK), 6-2, 6-4
Consolation Singles
Second Round (16)
Claudine Paulson (ARK) def. Nina Sertic (KSU), 6-2, 6-2
Delia Damaschin (WSU) def. Annemijn Koenen (ARK), 7-6, 6-0
Valentina Starkova (ARK) def. Tara Eckel (OU) 7-6, 1-6, 6-3
