September 25, 2005

Powell wins singles title at ITA Southeast Championships

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Grove City College senior Jenna Powell (Rochester, N.Y./West Irondequoit) won the Gray singles draw at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southeast Championships at the University of Mary Washington Sunday afternoon, helping lead the Wolverine effort this weekend.

One of four Grove City players to compete in the ITA Championships Saturday and Sunday, Powell went 4-0 in the Gray bracket to capture the title. Powell won the title with a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Shenandoah's Holly Hager. Powell opened play Saturday afternoon with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Washington (Md.) College's Ryoko Sawada.

Sunday, Powell topped Haverford College's Kim Dao, 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Powell earned a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Hollins' Kathryn McDonough. Powell then downed Hager in the finals.

Powell and sophomore Erin Bennett (Poland, Ohio/Poland) went 1-1 in the Blue doubles draw Saturday. Bennett and Powell opened play with an 8-2 victory over Elizabethtown's Kristy Trimbey and Emma Smith. However, the Bennett-Powell team fell to Sawada and Lyndsey Beidle in the second round, 8-6.

Grove City's first doubles combination of senior Julie Crewson (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) and freshman Tamara Nations (Kailua, Hawaii/Homeschooled) also went 1-1 in the Championship doubles draw. They earned an 8-3 victory over Bridgewater's Hilary Teeter and Diana Ricker in the first round but fell 8-2 to Swarthmore's Erica Lukoski and Jennie Park in the second round.

Crewson competed in the Championship singles draw and went 0-2. She opened with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Shenandoah's Erika Mitry in the first round. In consolation play, Crewson fell to Washington's Blake Lesser, 8-4.

Bennett went 2-2 in the Blue singles draw, advancing to the consolation quarterfinals. She opened with a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Johns Hopkins' Stephanie Carr. However, she topped Meredith College's Holt Gooch in the first consolation match, 8-2. Following an 8-5 win over Christopher Newport's Natalie Pitts, Bennett fell to Franklin and Marshall's Danielle Barish, 8-6.

Nations went 1-1 in the Blue draw. She opened with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win over Johns Hopkins' Mary Gorski. Washington and Lee's Torri Christmas eliminated Nations in the second round, 6-1, 6-0.

Grove City will host Waynesburg in Presidents' Athletic Conference action Tuesday afternoon.

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