Cowgirls host tennis tourney

The Wyoming Cowgirl tennis team continued its fall season by hosting the UniWyo Cowgirl Invite Saturday at the UW Tennis Complex.

“Overall, we had a strong showing,” said UW head coach Kati Gyulai. “Although we were nervous at the start, we improved as we got deeper in the draw. Tomorrow, we look to improve and to get a more confident start. Our objective is to make each other better through these matches.”

In the Gold singles draw, three Cowgirls made their way to the semifinals. Senior Sarah Summerfield defeated Melissa Holzinger of Colorado State in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. She will face teammate Alexandra Kovacs who earned a three set win, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-1, over Tiffany Knop of UNC and Veronika Wojakowska of CSU, 6-4, 6-2. Rebecca Berger won her only match of the day against Tabatha Knop (UNC), 7-5, 6-3. She will play Caitlin Fluegge of Colorado State in her semi-final match tomorrow. Freshman Saša Nemcová fell in her opener to Greyce Farias (Weber State), 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, but defeated Kirsten Stople of Colorado State, 6-2, 6-1, in the backdraw.

In the Brown singles draw, the Cowgirls had some success. Carly Van Hollen earned a straight set win, 6-3, 6-4, over Manar Al-Jazzaf (CSU). She will also face her teammate Kim van Ginkel in the semi-finals tomorrow. van Ginkel earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Brittiny Moore (Weber State) and a two set win, 6-1, 6-2, against Luiza Xavier of Northern Colorado. Unfortunately, freshman Paloma Navarro fell to Sydney Bell (UNC), 6-2, 7-6.

In doubles action, all three teams played their way into the semifinals. The team of Berger and Summerfield earned an 8-3 win over Fluegge and Wojakowska, while van Ginkel and Nemcova defeated Holzinger and Al-Jazzaf of Colorado State, 8-3, and then beat Farias and Jenkins of Weber State, 8-2. Navarro and Van Hollen also went 2-0 on the day as they defeated Stople and Mulhern of Colorado State, 8-6, and Tiffany and Tabatha Knop (UNC), 8-3.

The tournament concludes Sunday with both doubles and singles action.