Sunday, 09/16/2012

NEW YORK - The Columbia women's tennis team wrapped up another impressive day of competition at the Columbia Invitational Saturday. Columbia will be guaranteed at least two flight victories, with the chance to add three others Sunday.

In the Flight A Singles Draw, Columbia's top-two singles players will go head-to-head in the finals. Nicole Bartnik and Biancca Sanon each needed three sets in their semifinals matches, but came out on top. Bartnik topped Kristin Norton from Harvard, 6-2, 6-7(2), 10-7, while Sanon defeated Fairfield's Monica Yajima, 4-6, 6-4, 10-5.

The final match in Flight B Singles will also be an all-Columbia affair between Iani Alecsiu and Kanika Vaidya. Alecsiu took a 6-1, 6-7(4), 10-6 decision over Amy He of Harvard to advance to the final match. Vaidya needed only two sets to bypass Penn's S. Latycheva, 6-1, 6-0, and earn a spot in the final opposite Alecsiu.

Columbia will have and opportunity for a third singles flight title in Flight D, as Tiana Takenaga advanced to the finals. Takenaga will face Crystal Yen from Harvard in the finals after defeating Penn's Emma Whitfield, 6-0, 6-2.

Sanon and Takenaga will have the opportunity to secure two flight titles Sunday, as the duo will battle Hideko Tachibana and Norton in the Flight A Doubles Draw final.

In the Flight B Doubles Draw, the tandem of Katarina Kovacevic and Vaidya defeated Fordham's Novacek and Leong, 8-3, to move on to the finals. Penn's Yapp-Shing/Ion will look to challenge the Columbia pair for the flight title.

All flight championship matches will take place Sunday at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center.