Kessler & Jarlskog Come up Just Short in ITA Pre-Qualifiers
Sunday, September 30, 2018 | Women's Tennis
Gators win two but fall in final match of pre-qualifying round in Malibu
MALIBU, Calif. – After winning a pair of matches to start the weekend, McCartney Kessler and Ida Jarlskog fell just short of earning a spot in the qualifying round of the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, as they dropped a contested matchup to Ivana Corley and Jasmine Asghar of Oklahoma, 6-8, in the final round of the pre-qualifying bracket Sunday evening at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
The Gator tandem held a 5-4 advantage in the final match, only to see the Sooner duo fight back to win the next three games to claim a 7-5 lead. Looking to become one of four teams to punch a ticket from the pre-qualifiers to the qualifiers, Kessler/Jarlskog battled for a crucial deuce point and closed the gap to 7-6, but it ultimately wasn't enough to stop the Sooners who claimed the 8-6 victory on an ace by Corley.
Kessler/Jarlskog finished 2-1 on the weekend with victories over players from Utah and Texas.
In their first action of the day Kessler/Jarlskog battled to a hard-fought victory (8-6) over Tijana Spasojevic and Marta Perez-Mur (Texas). The Gators faced early deficits (0-2, 1-3) but rallied back to stave off elimination and earn an entry into the third and final round of pre-qualifiers.
After trailing 3-1, the Gators mounted a strong defense to rally back and tie things at 4-4. With the teams even at 4, the Florida tandem took control to win four of the final six games and earn the match win.
Both Kessler and Jarlskog will remain alive in the singles qualifying round of the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships which takes place Tuesday, Oct. 2 and Wednesday, Oct. 3 at the Riviera Tennis Club. Joining them in the singles qualifying round are Tsveta Dimitrova and Victoria Emma, who will also see action in the doubles qualifying round.
Quotes from the Court (Head Coach Roland Thornqvist)
Overall thoughts on the weekend
"Overall, we continue to improve, and despite the disappointment of losing, we are a better team now than when we arrived. We also served pretty well in both matches."
On the Gators' come-back victory in Saturday's first match
"This morning we made a couple key adjustments in our return game which made the difference and ultimately won us the match."
On the team's hard-fought loss to Corley/Asghar
"This afternoon we had a 3-1 lead but gave the break back too quickly. We have to give Oklahoma credit because they outplayed us the last 4 games of the match."
Draws List Moving On
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The Gator tandem held a 5-4 advantage in the final match, only to see the Sooner duo fight back to win the next three games to claim a 7-5 lead. Looking to become one of four teams to punch a ticket from the pre-qualifiers to the qualifiers, Kessler/Jarlskog battled for a crucial deuce point and closed the gap to 7-6, but it ultimately wasn't enough to stop the Sooners who claimed the 8-6 victory on an ace by Corley.
Kessler/Jarlskog finished 2-1 on the weekend with victories over players from Utah and Texas.
In their first action of the day Kessler/Jarlskog battled to a hard-fought victory (8-6) over Tijana Spasojevic and Marta Perez-Mur (Texas). The Gators faced early deficits (0-2, 1-3) but rallied back to stave off elimination and earn an entry into the third and final round of pre-qualifiers.
After trailing 3-1, the Gators mounted a strong defense to rally back and tie things at 4-4. With the teams even at 4, the Florida tandem took control to win four of the final six games and earn the match win.
Both Kessler and Jarlskog will remain alive in the singles qualifying round of the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships which takes place Tuesday, Oct. 2 and Wednesday, Oct. 3 at the Riviera Tennis Club. Joining them in the singles qualifying round are Tsveta Dimitrova and Victoria Emma, who will also see action in the doubles qualifying round.
Quotes from the Court (Head Coach Roland Thornqvist)
Overall thoughts on the weekend
"Overall, we continue to improve, and despite the disappointment of losing, we are a better team now than when we arrived. We also served pretty well in both matches."
On the Gators' come-back victory in Saturday's first match
"This morning we made a couple key adjustments in our return game which made the difference and ultimately won us the match."
On the team's hard-fought loss to Corley/Asghar
"This afternoon we had a 3-1 lead but gave the break back too quickly. We have to give Oklahoma credit because they outplayed us the last 4 games of the match."
Draws List Moving On
- In the 64-player qualifying singles draw, the eight players who win three rounds advance to the main draw. There is a consolation draw for first-round losers.
- In the 32-team qualifying doubles draw, four will advance to the main draw.
- Qualifying Singles
- Qualifying Doubles
- In addition to vying for the All-American national title, players will be competing to secure a berth into the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, which takes place November 7-11, in Surprise, Arizona.
- Singles quarterfinalists, consolation singles champion and finalist, along with doubles semifinalists and consolation doubles champion and finalist advance to the end of fall national championship.
- For updates draws, schedules, live scoring, general daily recaps and photo gallery links, visit the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships event page
- You can also follow event coverage on the ITA Twitter and Instagram channels at @ITA_Tennis
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube |
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
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