Tennis: WVU Shines on Final Day
September 24, 2007 02:45 PM | General
September 24, 2007
Morgantown, W.Va. – The West Virginia University womens tennis team boasted three champions on Sunday, Sept. 23, in the final day of the Residence Inn North Wolfpack Invitational in Raleigh, N.C.
The Mountaineers were led by the strong play of Alexandra Kaluza, Ashley Renee Pilsbury and Gabriela Blaskovicova, each of whom won a singles championship in their respective brackets.
Stacey Percival also played well throughout the tournament but was defeated in the Flight B2 championships by No. 1 seed Luisa Borges of East Carolina, 6-4, 6-4.
No. 1 seeded Blaskovicova defeated Hannah Priest in the Flight C2 finals, 6-3, 7-6 (5). After reaching the semifinals at last weekend’s Army Invitational in West Point, N.Y., Head Coach Marc Walters was even more pleased with her performance this weekend.
“Gabriela has been working on her play pattern and has been playing to her strengths a lot more,” said Walters. “When she’s moving well she is able to control her match and she adjusted well throughout her matches.”
Staying perfect in fall play was Pilsbury, who already has won the Martha Thorn Invitational and the Army Invitational. Pilsbury defeated Wofford’s Lauren Prickett, 6-1, 6-1, in the Flight D2 finals.
Concluding the Mountaineer victors was Kaluza, who defeated Lauren Isenhour of N.C. Wilmington, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. Coming off a stellar freshman season, she appears ready to compete at a high level based on her recent performances.
“Alexandra is a smart player,” said Walters. “She had a tough three-set match and I was pleased with her performance.”
WVU will play in the Blue-Gold scrimmage next weekend, an intrasquad competition that will help shape the lineup for the ITA Regional Championships on Oct. 19-22, at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va.
