Nov. 5, 2011
» ITA National Indoor Championships Home Page FLUSHING, N.Y. - Making her third appearance in a national semifinal, Husky senior Denise Dy fell just shy of reaching that coveted first final, as she lost a three setter to 10th-ranked Marta Lesniak of SMU at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships, held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Dy had lost a three set match to Lesniak earlier this fall at the ITA All-American Championships, and today's match was even closer, but just as frustrating for the Husky standout. Dy held a 5-3 lead in the first set, but wound up losing it in a tiebreaker. She then rolled to a 6-1 second set victory to force a decisive third set. Lesniak went up a break at 3-2, but Dy broke right back and then held for a 4-3 lead. Dy served again at 4-all, and saved three break points before losing serve on a fourth chance, and Lesniak would then serve it out for the 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-4 victory. She'll face Florida's Joanna Mather in the final. Dy was given the tournament's Sportsmanship Award by the USTA/ITA after the match. Her weekend was highlighted by a three-set win yesterday over California's Jana Juricova, the top-seed and No. 1 ranked player in the country. The San Jose, Calif. native is the first Husky ever to make three final fours in the three major national championships.
Washington Women's Tennis Main Draw Singles - Semifinals (#) - refers to ITA national singles rankings; within this specific tournament, Dy is seeded 7th, Lesniak is unseeded. |
