University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers complete play at Drake Fall Invitational
9/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Minnesota completed play today at the Drake Fall Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa. Four Gophers participated in the tournament that began on Friday and featured participants from seven schools.
Seniors Mariana Spilca and Peta Forsyth were joined by freshmen Elianna Kantar and Emilie Renault to represent the Gophers against players from host Drake, Creighton, Iowa State, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota and Northern Iowa.
The meet consisted of three singles flights and two doubles flights. Both Spilca and Forsyth competed in the 'A' singles flight. Spilca received a first-round bye, but then fell to Drake's Manca Krizman in two sets in the second round. Forsyth was defeated by Phoebe Walker of Northern Iowa in straight sets in the first round. Spilca and Forsyth lost to tough competition, as Walker downed Krizman in the final.
Forsyth had better fortune in the 'A' singles consolation flight beating Nebraska-Omaha's Traci Moklestad and Drake's Gabby Demos to advance to the final. Forsyth dropped a 6-4, 6-3 decision to Laia Gonzalez of Northern Iowa in the final. Gonzalez began her march to the final by beating Spilca in two sets in the first round of the consolation flight.
Kantar and Renault both began their collegiate careers with wins in the 'B' singles flight. Kantar downed Nebraska-Omaha's Jessica Hottman 6-2, 6-2 before falling to Amanda Aragon of Drake in the second round. Renault beat Drake senior Jessica Labarte 6-3, 6-3 but then lost to eventual flight winner Jessica Kunzelmann 6-1, 6-1 in the second round.
Spilca and Renault teamed up for the doubles completion, as did Forsyth and Kantar. Both duos competed in the 'A' doubles flight and both were defeated in the first round. Spilca and Renault bounced back in the 'A' doubles consolation draw winning both their matches against competition from Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota. Forsyth and Kantar were defeated in the first round of the consolation draw.
Minnesota returns to action in fall tournament play at the Sept. 24-26 Cal/Nike Invitational in Berkeley, Calif.
Players Mentioned
