Guillermo In Singles Semifinal and Doubles Final

Ryan McDaniel — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 20:59:02 +0000

The summer of success continues for Ann Li as she reaches a career best semi-final appearance at a Pro Circuit tournament. Li is back in the states, after competing in Wimbledon. The seventeen year old from Pennsylvania, not only made the finals of Wimbledon this month, but has matched her career high world ranking of 14. Li found herself in a familiar place today as she played another young American who is traveling with her as part of the USTA Player Development team. Li beat Caty McNally 6-1, 6-3 to reach this years semi-finals where she will play Lorraine Guillermo.

Guillermo, who beat Alexandra Morozova in the second round, played another seeded player. Today, it was Caitlin Whoriskey, the top ranked and seeded player in the tournament. Guillermo once again came out victorious, downing Whoriskey 6-3, 6-0. Guillermo was a two-time All-American at Pepperdine University where she also won the ITA / Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship award. Guillermo and Li are set to play tomorrow at 10:30am.

Defending champion, and crowd favorite Kennedy Shaffer battled for three sets today against Allie Kiick. Kiick, who is playing in her fourth tournament since July 2015 took the first set 6-4. Shaffer fought back to push it to a third set, but it was Kiick who ultimately won with a final score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Kiick’s win sets her up with a semifinal matchup against the Marcela Zacarias.

Zacarias is the highest seed remaining in the draw. Zacarias is from San Luis Potosi, Mexico and has won a total of 11 career Pro Circuit singles titles. She has also 14 career Pro Circuit doubles titles. Zacarias reached a career high WTA ranking of 181 in 2015.
The Women’s Hospital Classic Doubles Finals will be played after both semi-final singles matches. Winthrop teammates, Lauren Proctor and Alice Garcia beat the second seeded pairing of Cameron Morra and Salome Devidze 5-7, 6-1, 10-7. Lauren Proctor will be entering her junior year, while Garcia finished her Winthrop career last year after being named All-Conference.
Proctor and Garcia will play Lorraine Guillermo and Madeleine Kobelt. Guillermo has one career Pro Circuit doubles title, winning in Victoria, British Columbia in 2016. Kobelt will be playing in her first doubles finals in Evansville. Kobelt reached the semi-finals in 2013.

Saturday morning the Evansville Community Tennis Association with the help of local coaches will be hosting Family Day. Family day is open to anyone. Coaches will provide free instruction, games, and prizes for participants. Immediately following Family Day, the semi finals will begin.

Schedule of Play: 10:30am start time
Lorraine Guillermo vs Ann Li
Allie Kiick vs Marcela Zacarias
Alice Garcia / Lauren Proctor vs Lorraine Guillermo / Madeleine Kobelt

Young Hopefuls Survive Again

Ryan McDaniel — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 20:31:14 +0000

Many juniors were featured in the second day of qualifying at the Women’s Hospital Classic. Five juniors advanced and will play tomorrow for a spot in the main draw. Elysia Bolton and Peyton Stearns, both juniors, will face each other. Bolton advanced today by walkover while Stearns used all three sets to down Caitlin Bernard. Caty McNally cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory today to set up a match against Salome Devidze. They are scheduled on Stadium Court as the second match on. Abigail Desiatnikov, Kolie Allen, and Jada Robinson also pulled out victories today, giving them one more match to win before gaining entry into the main draw.

Monday’s schedule will feature a mix of qualifying and main draw matches. Caitlin Whoriskey, 2014 finalist, is scheduled to play Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine on Stadium Court, not before 11:00 am.. Top seeded Whoriskey competed in the doubles draw at Wimbledon thus year and is currently ranked inside the top 125 in women’s doubles. The former University of Tennessee standout, was named the 2010 College Senior Player of the Year after leading the Volunteers to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Last year’s champion, Kennedy Shaffer returns to Evansville to defend her title. She is entering her senior year at the University of Georgia where she received All-America honors in doubles this past season. She also received All-America honors in singles in her sophomore season. Shaffer is scheduled to play on Court 1, not before 11:00am.

Playing just her fourth tournament since July 2015, Allie Kiick makes her Evansville debut. Kiick has missed time with four knee surgeries and after being diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer. She peaked at world number 136 in 2014, and looks to get back into form this week. As a junior she was a singles finalist at the 2013 USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships.

Sunday’s July 23 – SCHEDULE

Court 1 – starting at 9 a.m.
Elysia Bolton vs Peyton Stearns
Kollie Allen vs Madison Appel
Anastasia Nefedova vs Kennedy Shaffer
Boyd/Iyer vs Daniel/Parks

Court 7 – starting at 9 a.m.
Lorraine M. Guillermo vs Csilla Fodor
Olivia Hauger vs Cassie Mercer
Mirana Tona vs Sebastiani Leon
Audrey Marquard vs Madeleine Kobelt

Court 9 (Stadium Court) – starting at 9 a.m.
Lauren Proctor vs Katerina Stewart
Salome Devidze vs Caty McNally
Caitlin Whoriskey vs Alona Bondarenko
Sara Daavetilla vs Magdalena Ekert

Court 12 – starting at 9 a.m.
Abigail Desiatnikov vs Kathleen Derienzo
Jada Robinson vs Meghan Kelley
Allie Kiick vs Stephanie Nemtsova
Fisch/Meyer vs Devidze/Morra

Allie Kiick – Evansville Tennis Center

Guillermo In Singles Semifinal and Doubles Final

Young Hopefuls Survive Again