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Herndon Advances to Semifinals of ITA Southeast Regional
Sept. 25, 2012
FREDERICKSBURG, VA – Johns Hopkins sophomore Shannon Herndon led a contingent of Blue Jays at the 2012 ITA Southeast Regional by advancing to the semifinals. She is the first unseeded player in program history to advance to the final four and it marks the fifth straight year that the Blue Jays have had at least one player in the semifinals of the ITA championship singles draw. Also highlighting Hopkins’ performance at the ITA Regional was sophomore Macie Wilkins, who won the Blue 1 Singles Draw. Herndon, who advanced to the ITA Quarterfinals and finished 15-4 last season as freshman, won her first four matches in straight sets to make it to the semifinals. She knocked off top-seeded and defending champion Sonja Meighan of Washington & Lee in the quarterfinals before she fell 6-1, 6-3 to ninth-seeded Elizabeth Martin of Carnegie Mellon. Sophomore Elaine Baik, seeded fourth, advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Martin in three sets. Baik’s three wins were all in straight sets before losing a close 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (2) decision to Martin. Martin was also responsible for knocking out sophomore Stephanie Rettig, who was a straight sets winner in her first two matches. Senior Nandita Krishnan was seeded fifth and lost just two games in her first two matches before having to withdraw from her round of 16 match due to injury. Krishnan had won the first set, 6-3, but was down 4-2 in the second against ninth seed and eventual champion Meghan Buell, when she suffered her injury. Sophomore Shannon Libaw won a pair of matches before falling 6-4, 6-1 to Allison Hupato of Washington & Lee. Junior Abby Clark also won her first two matches, dropping just three games along the way, but then lost in the round of 16 in three sets to Mary Elizabeth Shutley of Washington & Lee. Freshman Sydney Lehman, playing in her first collegiate event, was seeded ninth and lost just three games in her first two matches to move on to the round of 16. Lehman then lost to second-seeded Katie Cecil, 6-3, 6-3, of Carnegie Mellon.
In the Blue 1 draw, Wilkins won four matches, including three in straight sets, to come out on top. Her only three set match came in the semifinals, where she faced teammate and classmate Kaitlin Pfisterer. Pfisterer won the first set, 7-5, but Wilkins rebounded to take the second, 6-3, and third in a super tie breaker, 10-5. She went on to beat Jennifer Hall of Washington & Lee, 6-2, 6-3 in the title match. In the Blue 2 Draw, freshman Olivia Kasten dropped her opening match 6-4, 6-3 to Mikaela Pope. She then won the consolation draw, dropping a total of just six games in three matches, played in eight-game pro sets. Kasten beat Washington College’s Marielle McIntyre, 8-4, in the final. In the Blue 3 draw, freshman Kara McDonough advanced to the semifinals with a pair of straight set wins. She fell 6-4, 6-2 to Sharen Resnikoff of Muhlenburg in the semifinals.
Krishnan and Lehman earned the top seed in the Championship Doubles draw and made it to the semifinals before having to withdraw due to Krishnan’s injury. The pair is just the second JHU doubles team to be the number one seed at the ITA Regional, joining Anita Bhamidipati and Brittany Matava in 2007. They won 8-0 in their opening match before winning their next two matches by 8-2 scores. Baik and Rettig dropped their opening match, 8-1, to the three seed, Meighan and Patricia Kirkland. The duo then advanced to the semifinals of the consolation draw, falling in a close one, 9-8, 7-5. On the other half of the draw, fourth-seeded Clark and Herndon won their first match 8-1. But the duo then fell to Hupato and Sallie Griffin, 9-7, in the round of 16. In the Blue 1 doubles draw, senior Andrea Berlinghof and Wilkins paired to beat Laura Dodson and Corbin Leitch, 8-1, in the quarterfinals. The duo then fell in a close match, 9-7, to Mackenzie Smith and Paige Weinberg of Mary Washington in the semis. Libaw and Pfisterer also advanced to the semifinals with an 8-0 win in the first round and followed that with an 8-3 win in the quarterfinals. The pair then lost 8-5 to Angela Pratt and Alex Tapak of Carnegie Mellon. The pair from CMU also knocked out Kasten and McDonough, who had advanced with an 8-0 win in the first round. |
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