It was a good start for Bahamian collegiate player Sydney Clarke and her team, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Blazers at the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I Conference-USA Women’s Tennis Championships. In first round action, the Blazers took down the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners, 4-0, yesterday morning.
The championships is being played at the Waranch Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
In NCAA Division II (DII) action, Bahamian Sierra Donaldson was not so fortunate as she and her team, the Lee University Flames, fell 4-1 to the Mississippi College Choctaws in the Gulf South Conference Women’s Tennis Championships first round at the O’Connor Tennis Center in Montgomery, Alabama, yesterday morning.
In doubles play, Clarke and her partner Annalisa Smith experienced some tough competition, going up against the Roadrunners duo of Jasmin Starr and Keegan McCain. The score was tied 6-6 in the final set when the match was stopped as the Blazers clinched the doubles point by taking the other two doubles matches.
In singles, Clarke won a tough first set against Catalina Cabrique, 7-6(9-7). In the second set, Clarke wasted no time in turning back Cabrique with a 6-1 scoreline to win the match in straight sets and help her team stay unblemished. She won, 7-6(9) and 6-1, to help the Blazers to go up 3-0.
“I played a good match,” Clarke said. “The first set was intense with the games going back and forth – breaking and holding serve, but it was always tight. Nobody was able to get ahead. The tiebreaker was close – 9-7. I feel as though, once I was able to hold my ground and stick and believe in my game, I was going to turn it around and just keep pushing toward the second set. My opponent played flat so it was hard to adjust at first, but once I added a mixture of shots, slices and volleys, I was able to get into a rhythm and throw her off a bit. That allowed me to take over in the second set. At the end of the tiebreaker, she got frustrated and early on in the second set, I was able to get a good start. I was up 3-0 and I kept pushing, not letting up.”
The Blazers return to action today when they play the Old Dominion University Monarchs in the quarterfinal at 10 a.m. Central Time in Denton, 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) in The Bahamas.
Clarke is looking to play better and mentally stronger, looking to help her team get another win.
Donaldson and doubles partner Carley Sickinger fell 6-3 in their matchup against Kennedy Rodriguez and Alisa Morozova. The Flames lost the doubles point.
It did not go Donaldson’s way in the singles portion either as she fell in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-1, to Maria Rodriguez.
“My opponent was a decent player so the match was tough. I needed to stay focused in the match if I wanted to win, but I wasn’t there at the end. I was happy that my team and I made it to conference again and I hope that we can make it to conference again next spring,” Donaldson stated.
She knows that here are things she needs to work on to get better and said she will do her best to work on those things this summer.
Bahamian Lauryn Daxon will be in action today when her team, the Missouri Valley College Vikings, play in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Heat of America Conference Women’s Tennis Championships quarterfinals. They will take on the John Brown University Golden Eagles at the Metro East Tennis Center in Blue Springs, Missouri. Action gets underway at 10 a.m. local time, 11 a.m. EST in The Bahamas.
Abigail Simms is set to play in the NAIA Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Championships semifinals that gets underway on Tuesday, April 27 at noon. Their opponent will be announced later. They will play at the Wildwood Racquet Club in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/clarke-blazers-advance-to-quarters/
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