University of Minnesota Athletics
Three Gophers Advance to Gopher Invite Finals
9/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Three Gophers advanced to the finals of their respective singles flights as the Minnesota women's tennis team turned in a strong performance on the second day of the Gopher Invitational Saturday at the Baseline Tennis Center.
Tijana Koprivica and Alessandra Ferrazzi will meet for the singles title in the main draw for the second time in three years after each player won twice on Saturday, while freshman Alexa Palen will play for the title in the second flight. Koprivica and Ferrazzi also met in the finals of the Gopher Invitational in 2007 with Ferrazzi winning 6-2, 6-2.
Koprivica and Ferrazzi will also look to capture a doubles title on Sunday as the pair compete in the championship match of the doubles main draw against Nebraska's Madeleine Geibert and Steffi Weinstein at 9 a.m.
The singles finals will begin outdoors around 10:30 a.m. after the completion of the doubles play, which will take place indoors. Admission to the tournament is free.
Koprivica delivered the day's biggest victory in the quarterfinals, outlasting top-seeded Sonja Molnar of Iowa 7-6, 6-2 in a lengthy match that lasted well over two hours. Molnar, the returning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, entered the tournament ranked 72nd nationally. Koprivica then blitzed Madeleine Geibert of Nebraska 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Ferrazzi reached the finals with a pair of solid straight-set victories. She defeated Jennifer Holmberg of Nebraska 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals and downed Buffalo's Denise Harijanto 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals.
Palen had a robust collegiate singles debut on Saturday with two matches over Buffalo opponents. After winning by injury default in the opening round, she knocked out the top seed in her flight, Adi Petrova, by a score of 6-4, 6-2. She followed with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Tamara Markovic to set up a championship match with Alexis Dorr of Iowa on Sunday.
Dorr ousted Minnesota's Jackie Sperling in the quarterfinals by a score of 6-0, 6-2. Sperling then lost her consolation match to Jessica Young of Iowa 6-3, 6-2.
Peta Forsyth won her first match on Saturday by pulling out a 7-6, 7-5 victory over Marie Christine Chartier of Iowa State in the consolation round. However, she fell to Kelcie Klockenga of Iowa 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in the consolation semifinals.
Magdalena Wiecha also was competing for consolation and beat Julia Breuss of Eastern Michigan by injury default to open the day before falling to Xu Chang of Eastern Michigan in the consolation semifinals 6-3, 6-1.
Players Mentioned
