Kats post strong Day 1 at Islander Open
9/16/2016 9:51:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Sam Houston State tennis advanced three players into the singles quarterfinals and one doubles team into the same round through the opening two rounds of the main draw Friday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Islander Open.
The Bearkats' Khee Yen Wee defeated UTSA's Charleen Tiwari in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, before downing Lamar's Hanna Elfving 6-5, 6-0. Wee will take on the Islanders' Maria Maldonado when play resumes on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Meanwhile, Erna Barkovic also opened with a win against an opponent for UTSA, defeating Sonia Madronal, 6-1, 6-7, 10-8. Then, Barkovic downed Kerry Galhos, 6-5, 6-3, from the host Islanders.
Fabienne Gehwart followed up an opening round bye with a second round win against UTSA's Laura Cabrera, 6-4, 6-4. She will face teammate Barcovic on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Elsewhere in singles action, Mila Milanovic opened with a 6-2, 6-3, straight-set victory against the Roadrunners' Kylee Kato before eventually coming up short, 6-4, 6-4 to A&M-Corpus Christi's Maldonado. Carrie Casey also competed for the Kats falling 6-1, 6-2, to Judit Vives of the Islanders.
In doubles action, Caey and Milanovic earned their way into the quarters. In the opener, the duo downed Darzyan and Fuster from UTRGV, 6-1, and followed suit with a 6-3 victory against Ivanova and Litvinova from Northwestern State. They will face off against the Islanders' Belle and Trigona on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Wee and Gehwart also competed for the Kats, falling 6-2 to Belyaeva and Leclere from UTRGV. Barkovic and Friedrichs also dropped their opening round matchup, 6-0, to Vives and Dzinic from A&M-Corpus Christi.
