Skies Clear, Gators Fall at Women's Tennis Circuit
Wednesday, January 16, 2002 | Women's Tennis
For the first day of the tournament, increment weather was not an issue and play resumed on time at the United States Tennis Associatioin (USTA) Circuit Event hosted at the University of Florida's Ring Tennis Center. On Wednesday, Jan. 16 action continued in the singles main draw and doubles qualifying matches. Only two Gators, one current and one alumna, are still in the singles draw.
The first match of the morning featured No. 7 seed Tiffany Dabek, USA facing UF's own Jessica Lehnhoff (Delray Beach, Fla.). After going up 5-1 in the first set, Lehnhoff allowed Dabek to run the court scoring six straight to win it 7-5. Lehnhoff then fought back in the second set to win 6-1, but again faltered in the third to lose it 6-2. Alexis Gordon (Windsor, Conn.) lost to No. 1 seed Vanessa Webb Tuesday, 6-2, 6-3.
The only current Gator remaining in singles play, Lindsay Dawaf (Olney, Md.) walked away with a win in her first match of the tournament. Dawaf faced Yoo-Mi Jung, Kor. and took it to three sets, losing the first in a heartbreaking 6-7 and six in the tiebreaker. Dawaf then rallied back to win a tight 7-5 in set two and followed with a 6-4 win in set three.
"I think I did well," Dawaf said. "It has been a while since I have played a full match. I've been on break from school and then had my wisdom teeth removed that gave me a late start this semester. I started out this match a little slow, and that frustrated me. I was a tense and felt some nerves. Then I started to get into it and played pretty well."
Also still in the fight is recent Florida graduate Stephanie Hazlett (Evansville, Ind.). Hazlett played a long match against Diana Srebrovic, Can. Like Dawaf, Hazlett lost the first set 6-7 and 4 in the breaker. Hazlett however ran things differently in the next two dominating Srebrovic 6-1, 6-1. Hazlett's victory came despite back pains that have caused her and her partner to pull out of the doubles competition. She has been cleared to play as long as she can tolerate the problem.
Round two of the singles, and round one of the doubles main draws will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday. This event is the first USTA event to be hosted on the campus of Florida. More than 600 men and women competed on the USTA Circuit in 2000 and it has expanded to more than 100 events. The USTA Circuit has served as a proving ground for many current pro-players such as Andre Agassi and Anna Kounikova. The tournament is open to the public and admittance is free.
Agate
Singles Qualification-Round 4
Ivana Abramovic, CRO def. Shikha Uberoi, USA; 7-5, 6-2
Doubles Qualification
Maria Kirilenko, RUS/Daria Kustava, BEL def. Seul-Ki Chin, KOR/Milica Stamenic, CAN; 4-2, 4-1
Beau Jones, USA/Anzela Zguna, LAT def. Alexis Gordon, USA/Kristina Kraszewski, USA; 4-1, 4-2
Oxana Karyshkova, RUS/Remi Tezuka, JPN def. Courtenay Chapman, USA/Celena McCoury, USA; 6-3, 6-2
Natallia Dziamidzenka, BLR/Stephanie Mabry, USA def. Marta Simic, YUG/Sanja Todorovic, YUG; 6-0, 6-2
Amanda Parson-Siegel, CAN/Annie Trepanier, CAN def. Stephanie Hazlett, USA/Melanie Marois, Can; W/O
Jones/Zguna def Parson-Siegel/Trepanier; 4-1, 4-0
Yoo-Mi Jung, KOR/So-Jung Kim, KOR def. Kirilenko/Kustava; 2-4, 4-0, 4-0
Main Draw-Singles
No. 7 Tiffany Dabek, USA def. Jessica Lehnhoff, USA; 7-5, 1-6, 6-2
Remi Tezuka, JPN def. Alison Nash, CAN; 6-1, 6-1
Elizabeth Schmidt, USA def. No. Petra Rampre, SLO; 6-3, 6-3
Whitney Benik, USA def. Stephanie Mabry, USA; 6-4, 6-1
Lindsay Dawaf, USA def. Yoo-Mi Jung, KOR; 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4
Melanie Marois, CAN def. Ilona Vichnevskaya, RUS; 6-3, 6-4
Tanner Cochran, USA def. Lioudmila Skavronskaia, RUS; 6-2, 6-2
Ivana Abramovic, CRO def. Andrea Nathan, USA; 6-2, 6-1
Stephanie Hazlett, USA def. Dian Srebrovic, CAN; 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1
Lindsay Lee-Waters, USA def. Feriel Esseghir, ALG; 6-3, 6-3
Shenay Perry, USA def. Petra Russegger, AUT; 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 Antonia Czink, HUN def. Antonia Matic GER; 6-0, 6-4
