Sept. 20, 2009

Final Stats |  Quotes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Sophomore Sharon Siegel capped a perfect weekend with a straight-sets win over Belmont's Lauren Irick, while Caroline Gerber and Emma Levy rallied from first-set deficits to pick up wins of their own, as the Tulane University women's tennis team completed play in the Inaugural Memphis Collegiate Invitational Sunday at the Racquet Club of Memphis and WellWorx Fitness Club.

Siegel allowed just one point in her 6-1, 6-0 victory to win the Gray 3 Draw. Gerber and Levy, meanwhile, dropped their opening sets to Memphis' Andrea Arques-Garcia and Courtney Collins in the White 2 and Gray 1 Draws, respectively, before rallying with tie-breaker victories as the Green Wave finished the weekend 16-14 overall in singles play and 8-7 in doubles action.

"I thought the team did things really well in a lot of areas this weekend," Tulane women's tennis head coach Terri Sisk said. "Obviously, yesterday and today were much better than the first day. The girls really seemed to come together, really dug in and played much smarter tennis in the last 48 hours. I saw a lot of weak areas that we need to work on, but overall, I'm very excited. Going 24-21 for the weekend is a bright spot. It shows how we stack up and where we're heading, and what we need to work on at the same time."

Siegel was the lone Green Wave student-athlete to go 3-0 in singles play over the weekend. She opened the Memphis Invite with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Samford's Beth Erwin on Friday and allowed just one point in a 6-0, 6-1 decision on Belmont's Spencer-Anne Edwards on Saturday.

In addition to her standout singles play, she also teamed with Jessica Lange go 1-2 in doubles play. The tandem recorded an 8-2 win over Edwards and Irick on Friday and, despite falling short in their next two matches, gave their foes all they could handle in an 8-6 loss to Tennessee-Martin's Meredith Burns and Anna Marie Herbold and a 9-7 loss to Memphis' Marjorie Ondeck and Arques-Garcia. With Sunday's straight-sets win over Irick, Siegel has now won three straight matches for the first time in her collegiate career.

"Sharon had a great weekend," Sisk said. "I think I can honestly say that this is the first time I've seen her on her toes and confident about what she's doing on the court. I always knew Sharon had that ability, but until she realized it, it didn't really count. This weekend, she showed what she can do. We're real excited for her and she's obviously very pumped up about it."

Gerber dropped her opening set to Arques-Garcia, 6-4, but bounced back to tie the match with a 6-3, set-two win. In the tie-breaker, she cruised to a 10-6 win to finish the weekend 1-2 in singles play. Levy, meanwhile, lost her opening stanza to Collins, 6-2, and trailed 4-1 early in set No. 2. From there, however, she outscored Collins 6-0 the rest of the way to tie the match and took the tie-breaker, 10-6.

Also posting singles wins for Tulane on Sunday were Mariam Kurdadze and Elizabeth Hamlin. Kurdadze swept Tennessee-Martin's Martie Wahl, 6-1, 6-0, in the Blue 1 Draw and Hamlin followed suit with a 6-4, 6-4 decision over the Skyhawks' Belisa de Brito in Blue 2 action.

"Emma and Caroline both today were nothing short of impressive," Sisk said. "They were both so sound. Emma was down a set and behind 4-1 in the second, and just really refocused to play amazing tennis. She went back to playing directionals and did a really good job of wearing her opponent down.

"It was the same for Caroline Gerber. She fell behind the first set and had to go to a tie-breaker in the third, and did a great job of playing aggressive tennis. That is something that Caroline has been working on, stepping inside the court and using her forehand to set up points. She did a good job of that today."

The Green Wave return to action on Friday, Sept. 25, when they travel to Houston to participate in the Rice Classic at Jake Hess Stadium. Following the three-day tournament at Rice, Tulane continues fall play on Oct. 23-26, in Auburn, Ala., at the ITA Southern Regionals.

RESULTS FROM DAY 3 OF THE MEMPHIS COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL

Blue 1 Singles Draw
Mariam Kurdadze (Tulane) def. Martie Wahl (Tennessee-Martin): 6-1, 6-0
Blue 2 Singles Draw
Anastasia Erofeeva (Tulsa) def. Lindsay Dvorak (Tulane): 6-2, 6-0
Elizabeth Hamlin (Tulane) def. Belisa de Brito (Tennessee-Martin): 6-4, 6-4
Blue 3 Singles Draw
Caroline Beaulieu (Tulsa) def. Jessica Lange (Tulane): 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
Gray 1 Singles Draw
Emma Levy (Tulane) def. Courtney Collins (Memphis): 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6)
Gray 2 Singles Draw
Ewe Szratkowska (Tulsa) def. Marcela Fonseca (Tulane): 6-4, 6-2
Lindsey Mallory (Samford) def. Hila Elster (Tulane): 6-3, 6-4
Gray 3 Singles Draw
Sharon Siegel (Tulane) def. Lauren Irick (Belmont): 6-0, 6-1
White 1 Singles Draw
Carinna Reischl (Tennessee-Martin) def. Emma Helistén (Tulane): 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
White 2 Singles Draw
Caroline Gerber (Tulane) def. Andrea Arques-Garcia (Memphis): 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)

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