NEW YORK – First-year Nicole Bartnik advanced to the finals of the Cissie Leary Tournament this weekend, leading a strong showing for the women's tennis team in Philadelphia, Pa.
In the main draw, several Lions had a good showing in the first tournament of the season. First-year Chelsea Davis had a 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 win over Eastern Tenneesee's Kelly Holtzhausen, before falling to Stephanie Kent from Yale, 7-6 (7), 6-0. Katarina Kovacevic beat Drexel's Melissa Bohm, before falling to Sarah Lederhandler from Yale, 6-2, 7-5. Natasha Makarova advanced through the first round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Silia DeFlippis of Yale, before falling to Purdue's Michell Sammons, 6-2, 6-4. And senior Carling Donovan had an early round win over Penn's Juianna Rodin, 6-4, 6-3, but fell to Yale's Elizabeth Epstein in the next round, 6-0, 6-1.
But the story of the weekend for Columbia was first-year Nicole Bartnik, who was seeded third coming into the tournament. In her first collegiate tournament, Bartnik advanced to the final match, before she fell to the No.1 seed, Eastern Tennessee's Yevgenia Stupak. Bartnik, who had a bye in the first round, opened the tournament with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Stevi Petrelli of Yale. From there, Bartnik advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Jennifer Rabot of Purdue. Up next was Emily Wolf of Penn, whom Bartnik defeated with ease, 6-1, 6-1, to advance to Sunday's semifinal match. There, Bartnik defeated Yale's Epstein, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(1) to advance to the finals. There, Bartnik faced off against Stupak, who defeated Bartnik, 6-1, 6-1.
Bartnik also teamed up with Makarova to take part in the doubles draw, where the pair advanced to the semi finals. The duo opened the tournament with a first-round bye, followed by a match with Ezratt and Rodin from Penn. The Lions won with ease, taking the match 8-3. From there, they took on Duskina and Martin from Purdue, and beat them to advance to the semis. There, the pair fell to Brook and Lederhandler from Yale, 8-3.
Full draws of the annual tournament are attached. Up next for the Lions is the ITA All-American Tournament, which begins October 3.
