June 7, 2009
Doubles Results
Singles Results
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Vanderbilt women’s tennis signee Alison Riske has added another tournament championship to her resume. Riske, who was competing as an amateur in one of her home training facilities, teamed up with Arizona State commit Jacqueline Cako to win the doubles championship at the $10,000 Hilton Head Tournament at the Van Der Meer Tennis Center Saturday.
The McMurray, Pa. native also had a strong showing in the championship singles draw, finishing runner up to professional and No. 1 seeded Alexandra Mueller. The tournament featured players from all over the world and is one of many events on International Tennis Federation Women’s Circuit.
In doubles, Riske and Cako came into the tournament as the No. 2 overall seed and they proved they were worthy of it, going 4-0 in the week in route to winning the title over Tennessee’s team of Caitlin Whoriskey and Natalie Pluskota in a two-set tiebreaker, 6-3, 3-6 (10-6). The win over the Lady Vol duo was very impressive for the recent high school graduates in Riske and Cako as Whoriskey and Pluskota advanced to the 2009 NCAA Division I doubles Final Four two weeks ago in College Station, Texas.
Riske and Cako are listed as blue-chip recruits in the class of 2009, according to the tennisrecruting.net. Cako has been ranked as high as the No. 2 prospect while Riske has been ranked as high as No. 1.
In singles, Riske entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed in the 32-player bracket that featured players from Brazil, Ukraine, Finland, Canada, Slovakia, Russia, New Zealand, Romania and the United States. The future Commodore opened the tournament with three consecutive straight set wins to clinch a spot in Sunday’s championship final against Mueller.
After dropping the first set to Mueller 6-1, Riske battled back to force a third set after winning the second set 6-3, before coming up short in the final set, falling 6-3.
Riske was the only player in the tournament that played in finals of both the doubles and singles.