Bulldog Duo Bows in NCAA Quarterfinals
The impact turned out bigger than the amount of rain involved. A brief squall fell over the NCAA women’s doubles championships at Texas A&M in May, briefly delaying the quarterfinal match for the
nation’s top team.
But the No.1-seeded Fresno State duo of Renata Kucerkova/ Anastasia Petukhova lost their rhythm once the match resumed 90 minutes later with the Bulldog pair holding the 5-4 first-set lead. Cal’s Mari Andersson/Jana Juricova won the first set in tiebreaking fashion before claiming a 7-6(1), 6-3 victory on Memorial Day weekend.
“I’m so proud of Renata and Anastasia’s accomplishments this year,” Fresno State head coach Simon Thibodeau said. “They stayed No. 1 all spring.”
Both juniors and respective Czech and Russian nationals, Kucerkova and Petukhova will return next season on the heels of another standout season. They won 42 of 47 regular season matches in ‘09 after also playing together in the fall, when the duet won the ITA National Indoor Doubles Championship. The ‘09 campaign was also their second straight year of reaching All-American status.
Andersson, a Swede, and the Slovak Fed Cup vet Juricova took quick control of the match following their tiebreaker win. Part of a Cal program that reached the NCAA team final before losing to Duke, they took second-set leads of 3-0 and 5-1. As for the team, Fresno State fell to No. 1 ranked Northwestern in the Round of 16. The Bears eliminated the Wildcats the following round. Cal just missed out on becoming the third Pac-10 side this decade — joining UCLA last year and Stanford in ‘01, ‘02 and ‘04-’06 — to grab a national title.
Flanigan Climbing Mountains, Rankings
The stereotype of a teenage tennis prodigy centers on an insulated youngster who knows little about the outside world.
Katherine Flanigan prefers to do things in stereo sound — with the volume turned way up. Being one of the top juniors in California makes her stand out, but the 17-year-old Davis H.S. junior has other diverse interests. Flanigan plays the double bass for her high school symphony and the Sacramento Youth Symphony. She’s also a hearty outdoor enthusiast and veteran hiker.
“I’ve tried to get away from that,” Flanigan said of a tennis-only life. “I think it’s really important to have a lot of options and to keep your life open.”
Beginning June 23, Flanigan will compete in the USTA NorCal Junior Sectionals on the campus of Santa Clara University. She won the girls’ 16’s as a 15-year-old and this year will compete in the 18s.
“She takes the training element of tennis to a whole new level,” said her coach, Phil Cello, who runs a Fairfield-based training camp. “What sets her apart is her athleticism. She’s fast and athletic. She’s just a great all-around athlete.”
In May, she stormed through the Spare Time Memorial Day Junior Excellence field at Roseville’s Johnson Ranch RC, winning the championship without dropping a set in five matches.
Not satisfied climbing Mount Whitney just once, she did it again. The Sierra Nevada peak’s summit of 14,505 feet is the highest such peak in the continental U.S.
“I’ll probably do it again this summer,” she said.
WTT News: Capital Charity in Roseville
Normally a place for consumers, the Westfield Galleria at Roseville will be a site for charity on July 1.
Located next to the indoor shopping center, the Sacramento Capitals’ outdoor Allstate Stadium will host the first Capitals Charity Challenge. Proceeeds from the exhibition match will benefit the The Keaton Raphael Memorial and The Brayden Durant Children’s Foundation, a pair of local Sacramento benefactors for pediatric cancer research.
The Capitals open their World TeamTennis campaign at home July 3 against the Washington Kastles. The Caps are scheduled to have Michael Chang on their home roster for their July 10 home match against the Newport Beach Breakers. Anna Kournikova and the St. Louis Aces come to town July 13. Kournikova, a former Capital, is now a spokeswoman for charities like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America
