Apaches News
Fri, May 7, 2010 - [Women's Tennis]
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Tyler Junior College women's tennis team completed one of the most dominating performances ever at nationals on Thursday.

The Apache Ladies won eight of the nine flights at the NJCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships held at the Reffkin Tennis Center.
  
TJC, which entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the nation, finished 16 points ahead of last year's champion -- Lee College of Baytown.

The Apache Ladies clinched their 14th national title, and first since 2005, during Wednesday's semifinals.

Thursday proved to be icing on the cake.

TJC won the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth flights of the singles competition while also sweeping all three doubles flights.

"My only concern was that the girls would not take the matches seriously enough since the team title was already secured," TJC coach John Peterson said. "I should have known this group better than that. Nobody wanted to be the one that didn't win a national championship. Everybody was really solid.

"The girls dominated this tournament -- all eight of them at times with extremely good tennis. I've never had a more dominating performance out of a team."

Sophomore Casey Bulls had the longest match of the day. The Robert E. Lee graduate won in straight sets at Flight 5, but the second set was decided at 14-12 in a tiebreaker.

Sun Wen, the second-ranked singles player in the nation, won 6-4, 6-4 at Flight 2. Wen is a freshman from China.

Brooke Dennis, a freshman from Abilene, lost the fewest games of any TJC finals match with a 6-2, 6-0 victory at Flight 4.

Olivia Howlett of Hillsborough Community College (Fla.) was the only non-Tyler competitor to claim an individual title. Howlett won the first flight of the singles competition over Nadia Lee of Lee College.

Peterson looks forward to the Apache Ladies being strong again next year with the return of Wen, Flight 3 champion Antonia Kolovou, Dennis and Flight 6 winner Julie Bell.

"That is a really strong nucleus," Peterson said. "We have three (USTA) super championship girls at home that are good players in (freshmen) Natalie Hand (Van), Kendra Casey (Franklin) and Catherine Weber (Harlingen)."

Peterson said he's also signed several players who will be freshmen next year.

Notes: Lee College finished second with 36 points. Hillsborough (Fla.) was third with 31 points, followed by Cowley (Kan.) (24), Florida State College-Jacksonville (23.5) and Collin County (23). … North Central Texas College was ninth with 20 points and Temple was 14th with 18 points. … Thirty-one teams were represented. … The women's national tournament will return to Tucson next year before alternating with TJC's JoAnn Medlock Murphy Tennis Center, which will host the event in 2012.

TJC Results

Finals

Singles

Flight 2 -- Sun Wen (1) d. Nachell Proctor (2), Hillsborough (Fla.), 6-4, 6-4.

Flight 3

-- Antonia Kolovou (1) d. Frederique Sunstrum (2), Lee, 6-3, 6-1.

Flight 4

-- Brooke Dennis (1) d. Margarita Aheychenko (4), ASA Institute (N.Y.), 6-2, 6-0.

Flight 5

-- Casey Bulls (1) d. Huong Huynh (2), Lee, 6-2, 7-6 (14-12).

Flight 6

-- Julie Bell (1) d. Jade Cunningham (2), Seminole State (Okla.), 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles

Flight 1

-- Mariya Slupska-Dennis (3) d. Tetiana Kovalska-Soizette Simmons, ASA Institute (N.Y.), 6-1, 6-3.

Flight 2 -- Wen-Kolovou (1) d. Sunstrum-Francesca Bassoo (2), Lee, 6-3, 6-1.

Flight 3

-- Anna Zurek-Hagar Caro (2) d. Chelsey Lynn-Arianna Lopez (1), Florida State College-Jacksonville.