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Southern teams rule Riviera All-American Women's Championships
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Irina Falconi and Chelsey Gullickson, photo by Don Alschuler
The big surprises were all in the first round at the Riviera All-American Women’s Championships, held this past weekend in Pacific Palisades, California, where the titles were divided among Southern schools.
Unlike at the men’s event (the D’Novo/ITA All-American Championships), there was no sweep, but the players in the winners’ circle came from the same general area. It was eighth-seeded Irina Falconi of Georgia Tech who took the top prize. Though she was the lower seed, the sophomore had come back to school after an incredible summer where she picked up four professional circuit titles so her 6-2, 6-1 victory over Georgia’s third-seeded Chelsey Gullickson was far from shocking.
The team of Natalie Pluskota & Caitlin Whoriskey of Tennessee took home the doubles title. Though the duo was unseeded, they were certainly not without credentials. Whoriskey, who took out the top-seeded Maria Mosolova in the first round of singles, was the 2007 Riviera All-American doubles champion with then partner Zsofia Zubor. Pluskota was this year’s singles winner at the ITA National Summer Championships.
Ironically, one of the finalists of the doubles event caused winner Falconi’s summer-ending defeat at the U.S. Open. Qualifier Lauren Embree of Florida, was unable to get past fourth-seeded Jana Juricova of California in the singles draw, but she took it all the way in doubles. Embree and fellow freshman Allie Will made it through the qualifying event and caused an upset of No. 4 Sophie Grabinski & Sanaz Marand of North Carolina before falling in the finals, 3-6,6-1,6-0.
Allie Will & Lauren Embree and Natalia Pluskota & Caitlin Whoriskey, photo by Don Alschuler
Full results for the Riviera All-American Women’s Championships are available on the ITA website.
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