Marshall University Athletics
Herd Rolls: Schmitt Advances at All-American, Team at Blacksburg
10/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 6, 2006
HUNTINGTON, W.Va - The Marshall University tennis team's Kellie Schmitt continues her remarkable play at the ITA All-American Friday with two more wins in the consolation round. Likewise, her teammates are back on the East Coast and winning at the Hokie Fall Invitational.
ITA All-American Consolation Second Round
Schmitt won her first match of the day at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. over No. 65 Iva Gersic of New Mexico in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. Marshall head coach John Mercer said the toll of numerous matches started to show on the sophomore.
"She was a little sluggish at first with all the matches she has been playing," he said. "She was able to hit a lot of big shots against a good player. It was really a competitive match."
Schmitt jumped out to an early lead but her concentration started to wane a bit.
"She played well but a little streaky," he said. "She pretty much played how she has been playing but she started making some errors. It was a tough one to close out but she got through it and was able to focus on what she was doing."
ITA All-American Consolation Quarterfinals
After the match with Gersic went Schmitt's way she then faced No. 7 Amanda Fink of Southern California. Fink, the 2005 All-American runner-up, was a top-ranked entrant into the main draw was given a bye into the quarters to face the fatigued Schmitt.
With momentum from the previous match Schmitt commanded a straight set, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Fink. The win marked the highest-ranking victory for any Herd singles player and catapults Schmitt into Marshall women's tennis history. After the match Mercer said it was an amazing win.
"Whenever you win any match in this tournament it's a good win," he said. "But when you beat someone in the top 10 it's a whole different level. It's just a great result. Not just that she won but how she won. She has played great and stayed very focused with a work-like attitude and proved she belonged out there. This is the best. We have someone who can play with the elite players in the country and not only play with them but win."
"It says a lot about our players that get an opportunity to be in these situations," he continued. "Kellie is relishing the opportunity to play them (top-ranked players). She just loves what she's doing and that is often the key to success.
However, the road does not get any easier for Schmitt as she will face No. 20 Celia Durkin of Stanford in a Saturday afternoon semifinals match up.
Hokie Fall Invitational
Complete Hokie Fall Invitational Brackets in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Schmitt's success on the West Coast is reaching her teammates in Blacksburg, Va. Fellow sophomores Karolina Soor and Jessica Keener picked up wins and advanced to the semifinals in their respective flights in singles and also took a doubles action.
Other notable Herd victories came by Yulia Kashelkina and Thaddea Lock in Flight A doubles. Kashelkina has also reached the semifinals in the back draw of Flight A singles.
Flight A Singles First Round
Karolina Soor def. Jana Korycankova (Hampton)
Thaddea Lock def. Rebecca Erickson (James Madison) - 6-0, 6-3
Ashley James (Virginia Tech) def. Yulia Kashelkina - 6-1, 6-0
Flight A Singles Second Round
Soor def. J.J. Larson (Virginia Tech) - 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Laura Gioia (Furman) def. Lock - 6-0, 6-0
Flight A Singles Back Draw
Kashelkina def. Daniela Milano (Radford) - 6-3, 7-6(4)
Flight B Singles First Round
Jessica Keener def. Viviane Costa (Hampton)
Anna Volkova def. Maya Morgan (Hampton)
Flight B Singles Second Round
Keener def. Christin Thompson (Furman) - 6-1, 6-1
Natalie Kretzer (Virgina Tech) def. Volkova - 6-2, 6-1
Flight A Doubles First Round
Soor/Keener def. Lisa Bornt-Davis/Lauren Tomory (Furman) - 8-2
Kashelkina/Lock def. Brittnay Stewart/Whitney Trotter (East Tennessee State) - 8-0
The tournament will continue Saturday in Blacksburg with live stats at http://hokiesports.com/wtennis/tourney/.
Players Mentioned
