October 17, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . Chilly, wet conditions forced play inside on the opening day of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Women's Tennis Individual Championships. Instead of contesting matches at Veterans Memorial Tennis Center, play was split between tournament host Cornell College in Mount Vernon and Clark Racquet Center on the campus of Coe College in Cedar Rapids.

In contrast to a year ago when Coe placed four players in the Flight A singles semifinals, four players representing four different schools will battle for the IIAC's top singles crown. Top-seed Hannah Jensen of Coe posted wins over Central's Kayla Donner (6-0, 6-2) and Luther's Katie Nichols (6-4, 6-3) to advance to the semifinals. There she will face Molly Eslick of Wartburg. Eslick advanced with straight-set wins over Luther's Brynne Zinnecker (6-1, 6-0) Coe's Katy Delagardelle (6-4, 6-0).

In the other half of the Flight A singles bracket, Central's Hilary Baehr will face Luther's Kelsie Allen. Baehr topped Cornell's Kendall Bielinski (6-4, 6-3) before surviving a three-set match with Coe's Hillary Allen (4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (5)) in the quarterfinals. Following an opening-round bye, Allen shut-out Loras' Alejandra Ruales (6-0, 6-0) and downed teammate Fran Fairfield (6-2, 6-2). Fairfield and and Delagardelle posted the tournament's early upsets. In the second round, Fairfield took out Pavla Brachova of Cornell (6-3, 7-5), while Delagardelle outlasted Luther's Alana Humpal (6-3, 2-6, 10-6).

Jensen, Nichols, Eslick, Delagardelle, Baehr, Hillary Allen, Kelsie Allen, and Fairfield each attain All-Conference status by reaching the quarterfinals in the A singles draw.

Luther captured half of the four berths in the Flight B singles semifinals as Laura Reutlinger and Katie Patterson each advanced. Reutlinger picked up three straight-set wins, while Patterson needed a three-set win in the quarterfinals. Reutlinger will face Simpson's Alyssa Nance, who survived a three-set first-round match before recording two straight-set wins. Patterson will square off against Central's Emily Swartz on Saturday morning.

In the Flight C singles draw, play was only completed through the Round of 16 due to the weather. Of the eight quarterfinalist, three hail from Buena Vista (Connie Vieyra, Nicole Hansen, Jen Flint), two are from Simpson (Lynae Grueber, Gwen Kingsbury), and there is one each from Central (Brigitte Newman), Dubuque (Jacqueline Ventrice), and Cornell (Emily Zimmon).

Central placed two tandems in the Flight A doubles semifinals. Central's Baehr and Stephanie Gibbons posted wins over doubles entries from Simpson (8-6) and Cornell (8-3) and will meet Luther's Zinnecker and Allen for a spot in the championship match. Zinnecker and Allen topped Wartburg's Eslick and Emily Heying, the draw's No. 4 seed, by an 8-5 score. Coe's unseeded tandem of Jensen and Delagardelle provide one half of the other semifinal, advancing to the final four on the strength of an 8-6 win over No. 2-seed Alana Humpal and Katie Nichols of Luther. Jensen and Delagardelle will face No. 3 seed Faith Bliss and Kayla Donner of Central. Bliss and Donner topped tandems from Cornell (8-4) and Luther (8-3) to advance. All four Flight A semifinal tandems receive All-Conference honors.

Like Flight C singles, advancement in the Flight B doubles bracket was limited by Mother Nature. With play complete through the Round of 16, Central has advanced three teams to the quarterfinals, followed by Luther with two and Buena Vista, Cornell, and Simpson with one each.

The IIAC Individual Championship Tournament continues Saturday at Veterans Memorial Tennis Center in Cedar Rapids. Play begins at 9 a.m. with semifinal play in Flights A & B singles and quarterfinal play in Flight C singles, followed by championship and third-place finishes in all three flights. Doubles play will follow immediately after beginning with semifinal action in Flight A doubles and quarterfinal play in Flight B doubles. Championship and third-place matches will be contested following the conclusion of the semifinals.

Complete first day results are here.

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