#SWACWTEN Tournament Recap: Day Two
NEW ORLEANS – In a pair of hard-fought semifinal matches, Alabama State and Alcorn State punched their tickets to the 2019 Southwestern Athletic Conference Women’s Tournament Championship match during Saturday action at the City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.
The Lady Braves upset No. 2 seed Prairie View A&M 4-2, getting off on the right foot with the doubles point victory. Prairie View took control with a pair of singles wins by Claudia Medina and Costanza Aranguiz, but Alcorn State rallied behind Anastasia Vaganova and Stefany Grlj, as the Braves’ top two singles players won their respective matches in straight sets.
Ammaarah Tim sealed it for Alcorn State, defeating Prairie View A&M’s Jessica Lackey in three sets to send the Lady Braves to the finals.
The defending champion Lady Hornets found themselves trailing early, as the upset-minded Lady Tigers picked up the doubles point to take an early advantage. Player of the Year Reka Szentes and Freshman of the Year Urska Velec put Alabama State back in the driver’s seat with singles wins, but Maria Martinez tied it for Jackson State with a win over Alabama State’s Lea Krajcovicova.
After the Lady Hornets went ahead 3-2, Ariel Dickson bested Worthy Goldman to keep Jackson State’s season alive. From there, Maria Popova was the hero for Alabama State, overcoming a 1-0 set deficit to defeat Nina Zhang and send the Lady Hornets to the next round.
Alabama State and Alcorn State clash for the championship Sunday morning at 9 a.m.
Alcorn State 4, Prairie View A&M 2
(ALCN advances)
No. 1 Singles: Stefany Grlj (ALCN) def. Lucia Garcia (PVAMU) 7-6, 7-6
No. 2 Singles: Anastasia Vaganova (ALCN) def. Neharika Rama (PVAMU) 7-5, 6-1
No. 3 Singles: Jimena Castellanos (PVAMU) vs. Bianca Birkenstock (ALCN) unfinished
No. 4 Singles: Ammaarah Tim (ALCN) def. Jessica Lackey (PVAMU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
No. 5 Singles: Constanza Aranguiz (PVAMU) def. Klavdija Bukovec (ALCN) 6-2, 6-4
No. 6 Singles: Claudia Medina (PVAMU) def. Veronika Pytlikova (ALCN) 6-2, 6-0
No. 1 Doubles: Stefany Grlj/Ammaarah Tim (ALCN) def. Neharika Rama/Constanza Aranguiz (PVAMU) 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Anastasia Vaganova/Bianca Birkenstock (ALCN) def. Jessica Lackey/Mahogani Green (PVAMU) 6-3
No. 3 Doubles: Jimena Castellanos/Claudia Medina (PVAMU) def. Klavdija Bukovec/Veronika Pytlikova (ALCN) 6-3
Alabama State 4, Jackson State 3
(ASU advances)
No. 1 Singles: Reka Szentes (ASU) def. Lucia Solis (JSU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 Singles: Maria Popova (ASU) def. Nina Zhang (JSU) 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
No. 3 Singles: Maria Martinez (JSU) def. Lea Krajcovicova (ASU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 Singles: Gabriela Lackova (ASU) def. Lucia Placidi (JSU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 Singles: Ariel Dickson (JSU) def. Worthy Goldman (ASU) 7-6, 6-3
No. 6 Singles: Urska Velec (ASU) def. Lily Zhang (JSU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 1 Doubles: Oni Jones/Lucia Placidi (JSU) def. Maria Popova/Chloe Kabamba (ASU) 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Reka Szentes/Urska Velec (ASU) def. Lucia Solis/Lily Zhang (JSU) 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Nina Zhang/Ariel Dickson (JSU) def. Gabriela Lackova/Lea Krajcovicova (ASU) 7-5