Aug. 2, 2010
SEATTLE - The 120th edition of the Washington State Open kicks off this Tuesday at the Seattle Tennis Club, and dozens of current or former Huskies will be competing in singles and doubles across several age categories. Current Husky junior Denise Dy is the defending champion in the women's singles open division, and is the No. 1 overall seed as she tries to defend her title. Teammate Aleksandra Krsljanin is seeded eighth and the two would play in the quarterfinals. Dy will also take the court in doubles, and will team with Husky great Dea Sumantri, a 2005 grad and two-time All-American. Sumantri was UW's last All-American until Dy and Venise Chan both earned the honor this past season. Sumantri, second on UW's career wins list with 100 victories, will also play singles where she is seeded fourth. One of the top challengers to Dy and Sumantri in doubles will be another pair of former Husky teammates, Katherine Costain and Lisa Proctor, who are seeded fourth. Costain competed in the 1996 NCAA doubles championship along with Kori Sosnowy, and Proctor is in UW's career top-10 with 74 singles wins. Both were two-time Pac-10 Northern Division Players of the Year. Former Washington head coach Lisa Moldrem is also entered in the women's 35 doubles draw. On the men's side, several current Huskies are entered in the main singles draw, including seniors-to-be Tobi Obenaus, Brad Bator, and Skyler Tateishi. Incoming freshman Max Manthou will take part, as will 2009 graduate David Chu. 1993 All-American Chet Crile is the second-seed in the men's 35 singles division, and 12-year Husky head coach Doug Ruffin, the predecessor to current head coach Matt Anger, is the top seed in the men's 60 division in singles and doubles. In the main doubles draw, Obenaus and Tateishi will pair up while Bator will team with former Husky Andy Gerst. Chu and his elder brother Daniel Chu, the UW career doubles wins leader, are seeded third in the doubles draw, while three-time All-American and UW career singles wins leader Alex Vlaski will be in action in doubles, seeded second overall along with Justin Bower. |
