 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In a loaded field that featured six Division I and three Division II schools, the University of Evansville team posted a solid weekend of results at the Evansville Metro Collegiate Invitational.
“This was a fantastic tournament with a lot of very strong teams and players,†Purple Aces head coach Jayson Wiseman said. “We were competitive in every match this weekend and even our losses were very close, quality matches. This was great preparation for the MVC Individual Tournament coming up this weekend and hopefully we can build on this experience.â€
Highlighting the weekend was a singles championship at #2 singles for Diana Tkachenko. After opening with the win over Bellarmine’s Jennifer Skonieczny (6-1, 6-2), Tkachenko defeated UT Martin’s Asel Jumamukhambetova, 6-4, 6-0. In the finals, Tkachenko took down Adreanna Christopoulou of Western Kentucky, 6-4, 6-3.
In #4 singles, Andrea Pascual Larrinaga came home in third place. She opened up with the win over Ana Albertson of Austin Peay, 3-6, 7-5, 10-8. After falling to Jemima Potter (UTM), she faced Donna Haycock of North Alabama, taking the win, 7-5, 6-3.
Chieko Yamada played in the top flight and defeated Lindsay Whitehead of Belmont, 6-4, 6-1, to open up play. After falling to Sarah Candeloro of UT Martin, Yamada came in 4th place after dropping her match against WKU’s Elpide Malamou, 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles action saw Tkachenko and Nicoli Pereira earn a 7-6 (3) win over North Alabama in the opening round before falling to Belmont (7-5). In the third place match, Austin Peay defeated them by a 6-3 final. In the second flight, Theodora Soldatou teamed up with Yamada , falling to Belmont by a 6-2 final in the opening round. They defeated Austin Peay by a 6-2 final before falling to Western Kentucky in the consolation final.
Andjela Brguljan and Daria Pentsova played in #3 doubles and opened with a 7-5 victory over Austin Peay. The pair dropped a 7-5 decision to Western Kentucky before falling to UT Martin in the 3rd place match.
Beginning on Saturday, the Aces will be hosting the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships at Wesselman Park.
