Tribe Enjoys Successful Start to W&M Invite

Four singles players advanced to the semifinals of their brackets.

09/14/07 11:45PM

Williamsburg - A quartet of William and Mary women’s tennis players advanced to the semifinals of their respectively brackets on the opening day of the 15th annual William and Mary Invitational, while all three Tribe doubles teams moved into the quarterfinals. Sophomore Ragini Acharya moved into the semifinals of the Flight A Singles Bracket, while junior Klaudyna Kasztelaniec pulled the trick in the Flight B bracket. W&M will be well represented in the Flight C Singles Semifinals as sophomores Magdalena Bresson and Lauren Sabacinski signify half of the remaining unbeatens in the bracket.

Acharya, who is ranked 90th in the preseason ITA singles rankings, breezed past Maryland’s Michal Amir in the opening round, 6-3, 6-2. The Pulaski, Va., native continued her run though the bracket, tallying a straight-sets victory over top-seeded Tatsiana Uvarova of VCU, 6-4, 6-4. Uvarova entered the match ranked No. 26 in the preseason ITA rankings.

With the victory over Uvarova, Acharya advanced to meet a familiar foe in third-seeded Kellie Schmitt of Marshall. Schmitt, who is ranked No. 48 nationally, and Acharya met in the semifinals of the ITA Summer National Championship with the Tribe standout claiming a 6-4, 7-5 win. The Acharya-Schmitt rematch is slated for 2:45 p.m. at Busch Courts on Saturday.

Bresson and Sabacinski comprise half the Flight C Singles Semifinals following a pair of straight-set victories each on Friday. Bresson disposed of Michigan State’s Stephanie Kebler, 6-4, 6-2, before downing VCU’s Oleana Leonchuk, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Sabacinski defeated Marshall’s Isabel Raich, 6-3, 6-1, in the opening round, before rolling into the final four with a dominating 6-1, 6-0 win over Princeton’s Blakely Ashley.

The sophomore teammates are on a possible collusion course for the finals of the bracket. Bresson will meet Virginia’s Amanda Rales at 4 p.m. on Saturday, while Sabacinski will meet ODU’s Barbara Costa at the same time. Both matches will be played at the Dillard Courts.

Kasztelaniec gave the W&M competitors in the semifinals of each of the top three singles flights at the tournament. She will meet the top seed Yulia Rivelis of Penn in the Flight B Singles Bracket semifinals at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday at Busch Courts. Rivelis is the lone ranked player in Flight B at No. 124 in the preseason ITA rankings. Kasztelaniec moved into the semis with wins over Ivana King of Princeton, 6-3, 6-3, and VCU’s Viktoria Konstantinova, 6-3, 6-4.

After dropping her opening match of the season, Zoricic, who is ranked No. 46 nationally, rebounded with a straight-sets, 6-1, 6-1, win over Boston College’s Lana Krasnopolsky in the Flight A Singles Bracket. Krasnopolsky is ranked No. 104 in the preseason ITA rankings. Zoricic will meet her second straight ranked foe in No. 98 Melissa Saiontz of Princeton at 2:30 p.m. at Busch Courts.

In doubles, the teams of Acharya and Zoricic, Kasztelaniec and junior Barbara Zidek and the duo of Bresson and Sabacinski moved into the quarterfinals of their brackets with opening round wins. Acharya and Zoricic won their first career match as a tandem, downing the Cincinnati pair of Dandik and Paradis, 8-3. The W&M pair will meet the No. 4-seeded and No. 53 nationally ranked duo of Kosminskaya and Koulbitskaya from Penn at Busch Courts beginning at 9:15 a.m.

The Second-Team All-CAA pair of Kasztelaniec and Zidek defeated the Arkansas pair of Bordeleau and Damaschin, 8-4, in the opening round of the Flight B Doubles bracket. The W&M duo will battle Virginia’s Nimitz and Downing at 9:15 a.m. at Busch Courts.

Bresson and Sabacinski moved into the semifinals of the Flight C Doubles bracket with an 8-3 win over Marshall’s Keener and Moore. The semis of the flight are slated for 8 a.m. with the finals to follow at 9:15 a.m. The Tribe duo will meet the Maryland tandem of MacKeever and Miller at the Caf Courts.

The 15th annual William and Mary Invitational will begin on Saturday, Sept. 15, with doubles at 8 a.m. The Flight A and B Doubles brackets will be played at the Busch Courts, while Flight C is slated for the Caf Courts. The singles competition will begin at 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center (Flight F), Dillard Courts (Flight C and D), Caf Courts (Flight E) and Busch Courts (Flight A and B).

Day One Results (HTML)
Bracket (PDF)

W&M Results from the 15th annual W&M Invite
Flight A Singles
First Round
Ragini Acharya (W&M) def. Michal Amir (Maryalnd) – 6-3, 6-2
Charleen Haarhoff (ODU) def. #3 Katarina Zoricic (W&M)– 6-1, 6-2

Quarterfinals
Ragini Acharya (W&M) def. #1 Tatsiana Uvarova (VCU) – 6-4, 6-4

Consolation Quarterfinals
#3 Katarina Zoricic (W&M) def. Lana Krasnopolsky (BC) – 6-1, 6-1

Flight B Singles
First Round
Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) def. Ivana King (Princeton) – 6-3, 6-3

Quarterfinal
Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) def. Viktoria Konstantinova (VCU) – 6-3, 6-4

Flight C Singles
First Round
Magdalena Bresson (W&M) def. Stephanie Kebler (Mich. St.) – 6-4, 6-2
Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) def. Isabel Raich (Marshall) – 6-3, 6-1

Quarterfinals
Magdalena Bresson (W&M) def. Oleana Leonchuk (VCU) – 6-3, 6-4
Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) def. Blakely Ashley (Princeton) – 6-1, 6-0

Flight D Singles
First Round
Audrey Bordeleau (Ark) def. Barbara Zidek (W&M) – 6-1, 6-3

Consolation Quarterfinals
Jeanne Schwartz (Marshall) def. Barbara Zidek (W&M) – 6-2, 3-6, 11-9

Flight A Doubles
Acharya/Zoricic (W&M) def. Dandik/Paradis (Cincinnati) – 8-3

Flight B Doubles
Kasztelaniec/Zidek (W&M) def. Bordeleau/Damaschin (Ark) – 8-4

Flight C Doubles
Bresson/Sabacinski (W&M) def. Keener/Moore (Marshall) – 8-3