Saturday, 09/22/2012

AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Houston tennis team put together a successful opening day at the Longhorn Invitational at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
 
"This tournament features some of the best teams in the region and country and is a great chance for us to see how we measure up,” head coach Patrick Sullivan said. “We had some good wins today and I was encouraged by how well we competed, even in our losses. We're looking forward to coming out here tomorrow when fatigue starts setting in and seeing some of the benefits of all of the conditioning we have been doing with Coach (Dale) Jones."
 
Sophomore transfer Elena Kordolaimi made her debut in a Houston uniform as the top seed in her respective flight and didn’t disappoint, defeating Carolyn Schnell of Denver by a score of 7-5, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday.
 
Junior Dionne Sanders also picked up a win on Friday, outlasting UTSA’s Alena Schichokova, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, while sophomore Liselot Koenen dropped a gutsy match to the flight’s top-seeded Mandy van den Eerenbeemt of Denver by a score of 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
 
In doubles play, the top-seeded Houston duo of Kordolaimi and Sanders teamed up to roll past Tulane’s Ipek Birol and Anan Elster by a score of 8-2 and followed up with an 8-4 victory over West Virginia’s  Irinka Toidze and Vivian Tsui to advance to Saturday’s semifinals of the white draw.
 
Koenen and Charlotte Phillips also competed in doubles action, toppling the Texas duo of Elizabeth Begley and Juliana Gajic by a score of 8-4 before falling in the quarterfinals to the third-seeded Tulane tandem of Jenny Hois and Emma Levy.
 
Fans can view updated results by clicking here.
 
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
 
Doubles Main Draw (Orange) – Round of 16
Koenen/Phillips (UH) def. Begley/Gajic (UT), 8-4
 
Doubles Main Draw (Orange) – Quarterfinals
(3) Levy/Hois (TLN) def. Koenen/Phillips (UH), 8-3
 
Doubles Main Draw (White) – Round of 16
(1) Kordolaimi/Sanders (UH) def. Birol/Elster (TLN), 8-2
 
Doubles Main Draw (White) – Quarterfinals
(1) Kordolaimi/Sanders (UH) def. Toidze/Tsui (WVU), 8-4
 
Singles Main Draw (Black) – Round of 16
(1) Mandy van den Eerenbeemt (DU) def. Liselot Koenen (UH), 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
 
Singles Main Draw (Fuchsia) – Round of 16
Dionne Sanders (UH) def. Alena Shichokova (UTSA), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
 
Singles Main Draw (Orange) – Round of 16
(3) Elena Kordolaimi (UH) def. Carolyn Schnell (DU), 7-5, 6-1
 
Singles Main Draw (White) – Round of 16
Barbora Vykydalova (UNT) def. Charlotte Phillips (UH), 6-1, 6-1