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Women's Tennis
at Kitty Harrison Invitational
Duke's Kelly McCain Wins Grand Slam Singles Title at Riviera All-American
10/13/2002 1:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 13, 2002
PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIF. - Duke University sophomore Kelly McCain accomplished something on Sunday only four other players in Blue Devil school history have done before-- won a Collegiate Grand Slam Singles Championship. Fifth-ranked McCain knocked off 11th-ranked Nataly Cahana of Old Dominion, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 to pick up the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Riviera All-American singles title at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
The Tampa, Fla. native won the seventh overall Collegiate Grand Slam Championship in school history and it marks only the third time a Blue Devil has won the Riviera All-American. A Duke player has won the Riviera All-American two out of the last three years. Other title holders include-- Ansley Cargill (2000 Riviera All-American), Julie Exum (1990 & 1992) National Clay Courts), Vanessa Webb (1996 Riviera All-American and 1998 NCAA Championship) and Karin Miller (1997 National Indoors).
"Nataly (Cahana) played a really tough first set, but I was able to make some adjustments and get my head screwed on straight and pull away," McCain, the native of Tampa, Fla., said. "It's great to finally break through and show that I can play with everyone at this level."
McCain, the No. 4 seed, won 10 of the last 11 games to capture her first national collegiate title and registered five victories over players ranked in the top 25 of the Omni Hotels national singles rankings en route to the title.
"All week I tried to fight through every match," said McCain. "I was very calm and my approach was to make my opponents beat me. This is a very big victory for me and I am pretty excited."
McCain reached two national semifinals last season as a freshman before falling to Cahana. She has been active on the professional circuit, playing as an amateur, and is currently No. 333 in the WTA Tour Rankings, making her one of the highest ranked amateurs in the world.
"This is great for Kelly and our program," said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth. "After losing the first set she made some great adjustments. Then, she did what Kelly does best and stopped Nataly from doing what she does best. For her to make those kind of switches on the fly was the difference in the match."
By virtue of her title, McCain earned an automatic spot in the Nov. 7-10 Omni Hotels/ITA National Indoor Championships, hosted by SMU at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas.
In the doubles consolation bracket, it was a matchup of two Duke tandems-- ninth-ranked Hillary Adams/McCain versus 18th-ranked Julie DeRoo/Amanda Johnson. The duo of DeRoo/Johnson outlasted their teammates with a 9-8 victory (7-4 tiebreaker).- d - u - k - e -
Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships Hosted by the Riviera Tennis Club, Pacific Palisades, Calif. Main Draw - Oct. 10-13, 2002Complete results (scroll down for most recent results, doubles results) Singles First Round - Oct. 10 (1) Vilmarie Castellvi, Tennessee def. Julie Rotondi, Florida, 6-1, 6-1 Amber Liu, Stanford def. Julie DeRoo, Duke, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 Mira Radu, Mississippi def. (8) Adria Engel, Arizona State, 6-4, 6-4 Alicia Pillay, Tulsa def. Maja Mlakar, Arizona, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 (3) Jewel Peterson, Southern California def. Catherine Lynch, California, 7-6 (2), 6-2 Nataly Cahana, Old Dominion def. Marine Piriou, Northwestern, 6-4, 6-0 Amanda Johnson, Duke def. (6) Erin Burdette, Stanford, 6-3, 6-4 Zerene Reyes, Florida def. Chloe Carlotti, Fresno State, 6-4, 6-0 Courtney Bergman, Harvard def. Urska Juric, Missouri, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 (5) Sara Walker, UCLA, def. Alexis Gordon, Florida, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 Alice Pirsu, Pennsylvania def. Sadhaf Pervez, Ohio State, 6-1, 6-0 (4) Kelly McCain, Duke def. Dora Krstulovic, Arizona State, 6-3, 6-0 Lindsay Dawaf, Florida def. Sarah Riske, Vanderbilt, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 (7) Kate Pinchbeck, North Carolina def. Lauren Barnikow, Stanford, 6-4, 6-1 Raquel Kops-Jones, California def. Jessica Roland, Texas A&M, 6-4, 7-6 (1) (2) Agata Cioroch, Georgia def. Cristelle Grier, Northwestern, 6-3, 6-2
Second Round - Oct. 11 Amber Liu, Stanford def. (1) Vilmarie Castellvi, Tennessee, 6-2, 6-4 Mira Radu, Mississippi def. Alicia Pillay, Tulsa, 6-0, 6-1 Nataly Cahana, Old Dominion, def. (3) Jewel Peterson, Southern California, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6) Amanda Johnson, Duke def. Zerene Reyes, Florida, 6-3, 7-6 (2) (5) Sara Walker, UCLA def. Courtney Bergman, Harvard, 6-4, 6-4 (4) Kelly McCain, Duke def. Alice Pirsu, Pennsylvania, 6-4, 7-6 (4) Lindsay Dawaf, Florida def. (7) Kate Pinchbeck, North Carolina, 6-3, 6-4 (2) Agata Cioroch, Georgia def. Raquel Kops-Jones, California, 6-2, 6-1 Quarterfinals - Oct. 11 Mira Radu, Mississippi def. Amber Liu, Stanford, 4-2 (inj) Nataly Cahana, Old Dominion def. Amanda Johnson, Duke, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-5 (4) Kelly McCain, Duke def. (5) Sara Walker, UCLA, 6-3, 6-1 (2) Agata Cioroch, Georgia def. Lindsay Dawaf, Florida, 6-0, 6-2 Semifinals - Oct. 12 Nataly Cahana, Old Dominion, def. Mira Radu, Mississippi, 6-3, 6-4 (4) Kelly McCain, Duke def. (2) Agata Cioroch, Georgia, 6-4, 6-1 Final - Oct. 13 (4) Kelly McCain, Duke def. Nataly Cahana, Old Dominion, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
CONSOLATION First Round - Oct. 11 DeRoo, Duke def. Burdette, Stanford, walkover Piriou, Northwestern def. Carlotti, Fresno State, 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-2 Gordon, Florida def. Mlakar, Arizona, 6-3, 6-3 Juric, Missouri def. Krstulovic, Arizona State, 6-1, 6-3 Rotondi, Florida def. Roland, Texas A&M, 6-3, 6-4 Riske, Vanderbilt def. Grier, Northwestern, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (2) Pervez, Ohio State, def. Lynch, California, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Barnikow, Stanford def. Engel, Arizona State, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 CONSOLATION Quarterfinals - Oct. 11 Piriou, Northwestern, def. DeRoo, Duke, 6-2, 6-0 Juric, Missouri def. Gordon, Florida, 7-6 (4), 6-0 Rotondi, Florida def. Riske, Vanderbilt, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3 Pervez, Ohio State, def. Barnikow, Stanford, walkover CONSOLATION Semifinals - Oct. 12 Juric, Missouri def. Piriou, Northwestern, 6-4, 6-1 Rotondi, Florida def. Pervez, Ohio State, 6-4, 6-3 CONSOLATION Final - Oct. 13 Rotondi, Florida def. Juric, Missouri, 7-5, 7-5
Doubles First Round - Oct. 10 (1) Sarah Riske/Aleke Tsoubanos, Vanderbilt def. Karie Schlukebir/Linda Tran, Indiana, 8-3 Agata Cioroch/Lori Grey, Georgia def. Julie DeRoo/Amanda Johnson, Duke, 8-3 (3) Adria Engel/Dora Krstulovic, Arizona State def. Lindsay Dawaf/Julie Rotondi, Florida, 8-6 Delia Causevic/Emily Marker, Maryland def. Ashley Hedberg/Jessica Roland, Texas A&M, 8-0 Nathalie Roels/Sara Witten, Kentucky def. Lauren Barnikow/Erin Burdette, Stanford, 8-4 Linda Faltykova/Katia Kolodynska, Oklahoma State def. (4) Debbie Larocque/Maja Mlakar, Arizona, 8-4 Alexis Gordon/Julia Scaringe, Florida def. Claire Carter/Darija Klaic, Washington, 8-4 (2) Tiffany Brymer/Jewel Peterson, Southern California def. Hillary Adams/Kelly McCain, Duke, 9-7 Quarterfinals - Oct. 11 (1) Sarah Riske/Aleke Tsoubanos, Vanderbilt def. Agata Cioroch/Lori Grey, Georgia, 8-1 Delia Causevic/Emily Marker, Maryland def. (3) Adria Engel/Dora Krstulovic, Arizona State, 8-1 Linda Faltykova/Katia Kolodynska, Oklahoma State def. Nathalie Roels/Sara Witten, Kentucky, 8-3 Alexis Gordon/Julia Scaringe, Florida def. (2) Tiffany Brymer/Jewel Peterson, Southern California, 8-3 Semifinals - Oct. 12 (1) Sarah Riske/Aleke Tsoubanos, Vanderbilt def. Delia Causevic/Emily Marker, Maryland, 8-3 Linda Faltykova/Katia Kolodynska, Oklahoma State def. Alexis Gordon/Julia Scaringe, Florida, 9-7 Final - Oct. 13 (1) Sarah Riske/Aleke Tsoubanos, Vanderbilt def. Linda Faltykova/Katia Kolodynska, Oklahoma State, 8-4
CONSOLATION First Round - Oct. 11 Larocque/Mlakar, Arizona, bye DeRoo/Johnson, Duke def. Schlukebir/Tran, Indiana , 8-3 Dawaf/Rotondi, Florida def. Hedberg/Roland, Texas A&M, 8-5 Adams/McCain, Duke, bye CONSOLATION Semifinals - Oct. 12 DeRoo/Johnson, Duke def. Larocque/Mlakar, Arizona, 8-4 Adams/McCain, Duke, def. Dawaf/Rotondi, Florida, 8-5 CONSOLATION Final - Oct. 13 DeRoo/Johnson, Duke def. Adams/McCain, Duke, 9-8 (3)
Players Mentioned
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