May 5, 2010

Lady Tigers vault into fourth place at national championships

Entering the third day of competition at the NJCAA National Championships in Tucson, AZ, the Cowley College women’s tennis team has moved into a tie for fourth place with Collin County Community College.

The Lady Tigers have two singles players and one doubles team that are still unbeaten at the tournament. Cowley and Collin are tied with 23 points, while Hillsborough Community College is in third place with 27 points.  Tyler Junior College remains in first place with 36 points, and Lee College is second with 32 points.

Playing at No. 1 singles, Cowley sophomore Adrijana Pavlovic faced elimination as she trailed St. Petersburg’s Madeline Johnson 5-3 in the third and final set. Pavlovic rallied to win the final set 7-5 to advance to the semifinals, where she will face top-seeded Nadia Lee of Lee College.

Fellow Lady Tiger Jessica Montemayor also advanced to the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Johnson County’s Tracy Cooper. Both Montemayor and Pavlovic are 3-0 at the tournament.

Montemayor then teamed with Brittney Laner to rally from a first-set loss at No. 2 doubles to defeat the doubles team from Collin County 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 to advance to the semifinals. Unfortunately, Cowley’s No. 1 doubles team of Pavlovic and Jamie Blackim lost its quarterfinal match against Tyler Junior Colleges Mariya Slupska and Brooke Dennis by a score of 5-7, 4-6.

After losing her first match at No. 5 singles, Wrylie Finkle has won two straight matches, the latest win coming over Lewis and Clark Community College’s Kayla Neudecker by a score of 8-2.

Finkle and Shannon Franz are also still competing in the consolation bracket of No. 3 doubles after winning their second straight match.

The Lady Tiger tennis team will return to action this morning at 11 a.m.