July 29, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt women’s tennis signee Alison Riske continues to show why Commodore fans are excited to see her don the black and gold next month. This past week, Riske teamed with Arizona State commit Jacqueline Cako to advance to the doubles final at the $50,000 Lexington Challenger in Lexington, Ky.
It marks the second time this summer that the future Commodore and Sun Devil have advanced to a doubles final at a USTA Women’s Pro Circuit event. The tandem won the doubles crown at the $10,000 Head/Tail Activewear Pro Circuit Tournament in Hilton Head, S.C.
Riske and Cako entered the tournament in Lexington with the lowest ranking among the stacked field of competitors but displayed why they are two of the top recruits in the country in the class of 2009 by winning its first three matches to reach the finals.
The future Commodore and Sun Devil breezed through its first opponent after topping Katarena Paliivets and Alexandra Riley, 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round to set up a match with fourth seeded Maria-Fernanda Alves (Brazil) and Lena Litvak (USA) in the quarterfinals.
Riske and Cako continued its torrid play in the quarters as they dispatched Alves and Litvak, 7-5, 6-1, setting up a semifinal match with Courtney Dolehide and Amanda Fink (USA).
After dropping the first set 5-7, Riske and Cako rebounded to win the second set 6-4, including an exciting 10-8 win in the tiebreaker to clinch a spot in the finals against third-seeded Kai-Chen Change (Taiwan) and Tetiana Luzhanska (Ukraine).
The third-seeded tandem of Chang and Luzhanska put an end to a solid week for Riske and her counterpart, topping the U.S. tandem 6-3, 6-2 in the championship match.
Earlier in the week, Riske posted a 1-1 record in singles play at the Lexington Challenger, including a straight set win against Great Britain’s Melanie South in the round of 32.
