NCAA Round-Up: Hornets, Bulldogs
• In looking to continue an impressive streak in the standings, the Sacramento State men have continuity on their roster. Junior Kiryl Harbatsiuk has been named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week for the second time in his career. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound righthander from Belarus went 5-0 in the first week of April, playing No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles without dropping a set. He won a pair of singles matches while also teaming with countryman Anton Stryhas at the top doubles slot. The Hornets improved in the Big Sky, staying unbeaten in regular season conference play — over a streak of 23 straight matches — since ‘06.
• April saw the Fresno State women build on their team success of March, when they continued their unbeaten record in the WAC while also winning a big one out of conference play. Bulldog head football coach Pat Hill reminds anyone who will listen that his team won its most recent games against Pac-10 foes UCLA, Washington and Cal, and the Bulldog women’s tennis team followed suit with a 4-3 win at the Cal Bears in Berkeley on March 21. Keep close watch on the NCAA women’s doubles championship draw for some Fresno talent. The doubles tandem of Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova remain tops in the nation. The Bulldogs’ No. 2 team of Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe was ranked No. 12 in the country (as of press time) after reaching the NCAA finals a year ago. The national championships begin on campus sites May 8 and continue at Texas A&M’s Tennis Center from May 15-25.
Nadal Country: Nichols Headed for Mallorca
Lodi’s Carolyn Nichols has been selected to be the player-captain of the Maria Esther Bueno Cup team for women 50 and over.
Nichols will represent the U.S. at the 29th ITF Seniors World Team Championships on European red clay courts in Mallorca, Spain April 27-May 2. She is one of a four-woman team selected by the USTA from the top American players. Her teammates include Diane Fishburne, Susan Wright and Marianne Robertson. The U.S. is the defending Bueno Cup champ, having won the gold in ‘06, ‘07 and ‘08. Fishburne, Wright and Nichols were all members of the ‘08 team, which won the championships in Turkey.
Nichols finished ‘08 ranked No. 2 in the ITF World Rankings and No. 4 in the U.S. in the 50s and No. 5 in the 45s. Her major titles of ‘08 were the Ultra Senior Father-Daughter Hard Courts, Swiss National Championships, and the Argentine Nationals. She has won 17 USTA National Championship singles and doubles titles and this year marks her 12th selection to an international cup team. Her experience in international competition will be invaluable as she captains this very talented team.
UC-Davis Named Campus Club of the Year
The USTA Tennis On Campus program announced its inaugural Club of the Year Award for ‘08-’09, awarding the prestigious title to UC-Davis. (Wisconsin, Whitewater and UCLA received honorable mentions.)
The award is to honor a Tennis On Campus club for significant improvements in their program and how it commits time and resources to benefit its communities. UC-Davis is a close-knit, 90 percent self-financed, and diverse club of over 250 recreational and competitive players whose goal is to spread the joys of tennis through volunteering and mentoring. For its impact on the Davis community at large, UC-Davis has strong partnerships with local businesses and holds a number of charitable events per year. For example, the team offers a membership card, which allows for discounts at local businesses. In addition, the club partners with the USTA to provide a free clinic to over 400 underprivileged kids every year.
“It’s remarkable how many of these programs commit their time and resources to improving their local communities,” said the USTA’s Glenn Arrington. “It was a hard decision because so many of our teams are great ambassadors not just for tennis, but also their campuses. In the end, UC-Davis stood out from the crowd, and they should be proud.”
The USTA presented the award during the April 16-18 USTA National Campus Championship in Surprise, Ariz., where 64 co-ed teams compted in a World TeamTennis format. Since its inception in ‘04, Tennis On Campus has grown to over 500 colleges and 35,000 athletes. Approximately 350,000 students play high school tennis nationwide, but only 6 percent have an opportunity to play college varsity tennis.
Granville Grabs a Challenger Title in Redding
Not exactly glamorous on the surface, Lauren Granville’s recent comeback attempt featured plenty of substance.
An injured wrist suffered at a Challenger event in Texas last February marked the last competition for the former Stanford star until just a few weeks ago. Dodging high winds, rain and even a few snowflakes in the final of the USTA Women’s Pro Challenger in Redding, she overcame Japan’s Rika Fujiwara in a three-set victory. The 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win marked a successful re-entry for Granville, who turned pro in ‘01 after two wildly successful seasons for the Cardinal.
The owner of over $1 million in career prize money needed to win a pair of qualifying matches (without losing a set) before reaching the main draw at upstate’s Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness. Fujiwara squared the final after racing to a 4-0 lead in the second set before rain halted play with the 10-year pro up 1-0 in the third. Granville then drew from the well that allowed her to win 58 straight matches at Stanford, where she claimed NCAA singles championships in each of her two seasons on the Farm. Granville claimed a $3,000 winner’s check in Redding.
Granville finished in the top 100 of the WTA rankings every year from ‘01 to ‘07. She hopes a recent trend for Redding entrants continues. A tournament semifinalist a year ago, Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic knocked off No. 4-ranked Elena Dementieva at Indian Wells in March. Barbora Zahlovova Strycova won the ‘08 Pro Challenger Redding, and is now No. 60.
Club Notes
Gold River RC: The early spring will again feature two long-running tournaments at this club outside of Sacramento. Recommended attire for each will be very different (more on that later). The tradition continues at the Fiesta Days adult tournament, which is scheduled for June 6-7 and June 13-14. This will be the 39th edition of Fiesta Days, which will again feature over 300 entries (men and women) from a variety of skill levels. It is open to USTA entrants from 2.5 to Open level. Contact Margie Campbell at (916) 804-4119 for more info. Another established tennis event at Gold River takes place Memorial Day. Club officials began the Woody Tennis Social years ago, inviting participants to bring their old wooden rackets and snowflake-white attire out of retirement. The event has now gone on as long as the same aforementioned tight shorts were in style (‘91). The 19th edition is scheduled for May 25, open to club members. Wooden rackets will be provided, and so are champagne and strawberries. Fun is all but guaranteed — provided those on hand act more like Arthur Ashe than Ille Nastase.
Natomas RC: Make way for a pro tournament in the state capital. The USTA Pro Circuit Futures, pro tennis’ rough equivalent of Double-A baseball, is slated to come to the city’s northern edges from June 13-20. A title sponsor has yet to be named, though the event should draw men’s players ranked between 220 and 800 in the world. The 32-player draw will feature a purse of $15,000. Futures events typically draw a mix of college players staying sharp in the summer, while also those on the younger side hoping to bounce back into the ATP spotlight. Former USTA junior champion, Scoville Jenkins claimed the RWI Pro Circuit event in nearby Loomis in ‘07. Also at Natomas May 7-9, the state junior college championships will see the top two men’s and women’s sides from NorCal and SoCal compete for supremacy.
Laguna Creek RC: The Elk Grove-club will host the 16 Junior Nationals from May 16-21. It is a double-elimination tournament that features 64 slots in each of the boys and girls draws.
