Sacko Wins Twice in Singles B Draw to Lead GWU Women's Tennis in Fall 2013 Opener
September 23, 2013 | Women's Tennis
Spartanburg, S.C. - Gardner-Webb's women's tennis team competed in its season-opening match over the weekend, opening the Fall 2013 season at the USC Upstate Fall Classic.
In the Singles B Draw, sophomore Rokia Sacko won two straight to open the tournament, first knocking off USC Upstate's Ana Baron 6-3, 6-1 on Friday. In the second round, the Montreal, Canada native followed with a resilient 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Mareli Sanchez of Wofford to advance to play East Tennesse State's Jessica Brumit in one of the two semifinal matches of Draw B.
Brumit earned a 6-2, 6-0 win over Sacko to move to the Draw's championship match on Sunday.
Yasmin Doost (Bray, Maidenhead, England) won against Catherine Martin (Wofford) in their first round matchup in Singles Draw A, scoring a 6-4, 6-2 win on Friday. Doost fell to Anna Gerbasi (ETSU), 6-4, 6-1, in the next round.
A number of GWU players impressed in B's Back Draw, including senior Jenny Lunde (Oslo, Norway). Lunde controlled play effectively during a decisive 6-1, 6-1 win against Carolina deLoach of Presbyterian. Lunde nearly defeated eventual back draw champ Anna Zoske (Upstate), but was unable to pull off the win late in a 6-4, 2-6, 10-8 win for the Spartans' Zoske.
Fellow senior Ronia Hutterli was also strong in the singles B Back Draw, winning initially over Patricia Alves (PC) 6-3, 6-4 before dropping a hard-fought 2-6, 6-4, 10-8 match versus Caroline Ferrari (PC).
Sophomore Valeria Popko (St. Petersburg, Russia) led the Runnin' Bulldogs in the B Back Draw with two singles wins. Popko got past Wofford's Emily Erickson 6-1, 6-2 and Presbyterian's Antonia Conze 6-2, 6-1 before falling just short in a contentious 6-3, 1-6, 11-9 match vs. Presbyterian's Courtney Gardiner, who had to fight to get through her 2-6, 6-2, 10-6 first round win against Runnin' Bulldog freshman Catherine White.
In the A Doubles Draw, Doost/Hutterli eased up to give the Runnin' Bulldogs a decisive opening round win, as the pair ran past Presbyterian's deLoach/Ferrari by an 8-1 margin. The duo fell just short in their next, as ETSU's Choo/Gerbasi won 9-7 to reach the Draw's championship match.
In the B Draw, newcomers Catherine White and Teodora Stanciu teamed up for an 8-6 win against PC's Leahy/Conze pairing in round one. The Runnin' Bulldog duo battled in the second round, falling in a tight 9-8 (4) match against Upstate's Cohen/Zoske, the eventual Draw champions.
The Runnin' Bulldogs are next Scheduled to compete at ITA Regionals in Chapel Hill, N.C., held October 17-20.
