TULSA, Okla. – At the conclusion of day one of NCAA singles tournament, Frances Altick advances to the second round of play after knocking off her first round opponent in straight sets. This is Altick’s second appearance in the NCAA tournament after falling in the first round in 2014.
Altick was joined in singles play Wednesday afternoon by teammates Sydney Campbell and Astra Sharma, with both suffering hard first round losses.
“It’s tough going from the team competition back to playing individually,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “The competition is fierce and it’s all about learning.”
Altick, the 2016 national Most Improved Senior Player of the Year, looks to extend her stay in Tulsa few days longer after a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over DePaul’s Yulia Shupenia.
An automatic All-American, Altick gave up her first two games, but then quickly went to work establishing dominance on court to take the first set 6-3. Again trailing in the second set, the Monroe, La. native rejected Shupenia’s attempts to force a third set, closing out the match, 6-3, 6-4.
After a upset over Alabama’s No. 48 Andie Daniel, William and Mary’s No. 99 Elizaveta Nemchinov will face No. 14 Altick tomorrow, May 27th, at 10:30 am. The senior could go on later depending on weather conditions and lengths of prior matches.
No. 18 Campbell fell in a tight third set to Oklahoma State’s No. 47 Katarina Adamovic. The Cowgirl was riding an eight-match winning streak coming into Wednesday afternoon’s match and was fueled to compete following OSU’s loss in the NCAA Championship.
Taking several deuce points, Campbell took the first set 6-2, but Adamovic clawed back into contention taking the next two sets, 6-2 and 6-4. Campbell caps her junior singles season off with a 14 victories.
No. 32 Sharma squared off against a challenging opponent in UNC’s No. 57 Jessie Aney, who came into the singles tournament taking 17 of her last 18 matches. After a long and fruitful season, the Aussie closed out her sophomore season falling 6-3, 6-1. Sharma ends the season with a 17-6 record, and now owns an astounding 61-19 record.
Campbell and doubles partner Courtney Colton, ranked No. 14 in the nation, will begin competition at 4:00 pm tomorrow in the NCAA doubles tournament. The Commodore team squares off against Pepperdine’s 19th-ranked Matea Cutura/Christine Maddox. Colton/Campbell will be looking for redemption against the Waves, as the tandem defeated the ‘Dores, 8-4, in the quarterfinals of the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships.
