Ladyjack Freshman Wins Two Matches at Summer Tournament
6/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
June 24, 2011
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack redshirt freshman Jithmie Jayawickrema recorded two wins at the Ladies Cleveland Pro Circuit Tennis Championship. Jayawickrema defeated Elizabeth Vlachikis 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of qualifying and then stunned North Carolina State's Joelle Kissell 6-4, 6-4 in the second round before falling to Northwestern's Kate Turvy in the Round of 16.
"Jithmie has worked very hard over the last six months while redshirting her first year, and we knew she had made a huge improvement," said head coach Patick Sullivan. "But it was hard to gauge exactly how far she had come while she was competing strictly against her teammates. These results are exciting, particularly the win over Kissell who is a top player on a top college team and was a five-star recruit in Jithmie's graduating class. This is by far Jithmie's best tournament result so far, and with a full slate of events on the schedule this summer, we look for her to continue to build on her great start and reap the results of her outstanding training this spring and summer."
The Ladies Cleveland (Ohio) Pro Circuit Tennis Championship is a USTA Pro Circuit tournament, that gives young players the opportunity to earn their first world ranking points. The women who compete are junior competitors, college players, and professionals who may be ranked as high as number 250 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour and world rankings. The USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour level competition for aspiring tennis players. Recent winners at the LCPCT have included 2009 champ and current top American tour player Jamie Hampton, as well as 2010 champion, former LSU star Megan Falcon.
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