Nov. 5, 2011
HOUSTON - Four Auburn players will be in contention for flight titles on Sunday after an outstanding effort on day two at the 2011 Persona Legal Resources Cougar Fall Draw hosted by the University of Houston.
"I'm really happy with the team's effort and performance today," head coach Lauren Longbotham Meisner said. "We won all of our singles matches and have four players in the finals of their draws, so I am really pleased with that. We also had a strong start to the doubles competition. Overall, it was a good day for us."
In total, Auburn posted a 5-0 mark in singles play on Saturday. The Tigers also had a strong start in the doubles competition, picking up five wins in six matches.
Emily Flickinger kept her strong weekend going with a three-set win over Oregon's Patricia Skowronski, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. Fellow freshman Lauren Levant also cruised into the finals with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Sam Houston St.'s Kayla Stevenson.
Sophomore Jacqueline Kasler earned a 6-1, 6-2 win over Morgane Dadot from Southeastern Louisiana to write her name in a bracket final, and junior Plamena Kurteva's 6-3, 6-1 victory over Rice's Ana Guzman made her the fourth Auburn player that will go for a draw championship on the final day of action.
Although not playing for a draw title, Paulina Schippers knocked off UT Pan American's Dana Nazarova in perfect fashion with back-to-back 6-0 set wins.
Saturday's doubles action featured the return of Auburn's Taylor Schreimann. The senior from Dallas, Texas had missed the two previous meets while rehabbing a knee injury, but debuted in a big way with Kasler as her partner.
The duo earned a pair of wins, first, defeating Adriana Castillo/Laura Verges from Southeastern Louisiana 8-6, then knocking off home team Houston's Maja Kazimieruk /Jo Garvey 8-4.
Flickinger and Pfeifler also picked up two victories on Saturday and will play in their doubles draw semifinal on Sunday. The combo downed Brittany Harrell/Alejandra Barrera from Prairie View A&M for a perfect 8-0 win. They followed that win up with an 8-2 win over Arkansas State's Mahuiyang Rong and Ioana Teu.
Additionally, Cohen and Levant advanced to their own semifinal matchup with wins over UT Pan American's Wanda Beguelin /Reetta Raty (8-4) and Sam Houston St.'s Kayla Stevenson/Natalie Petaia (8-6).
Kurteva and Schippers had a bye through the first round in their draw, but were defeated 8-4 by the duo of Elizabeth Begley and Juliana Gajic from Texas in second round play.
Sunday's final day of action is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m.
RESULTS
Singles
Emily Flickinger (Auburn) defeats Patricia Skowronski (Oregon) 7-5, 2-6, 7-5
Jacqueline Kasler (Auburn) defeats Morgane Dadot (Southeastern Louisiana) 6-1, 6-2
Paulina Schippers (Auburn) defeats Dana Nazarova (UT Pan American) 6-0, 6-0
Lauren Levant (Auburn) defeats Kayla Stevenson (Sam Houston St.) 6-2, 6-4
Plamena Kurteva (Auburn) defeats Ana Guzman (Rice) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
Emily Flickinger/Jen Pfeifler (Auburn) defeat Brittany Harrell/Alejandra Barrera (Prairie View A&M) 8-0
Emily Flickinger/Jen Pfeifler (Auburn) defeat Mahuiyang Rong/ Ioana Teu (Arkansas State) 8-2
Plamena Kurteva/Paulina Schippers (Auburn) Received a bye
Elizabeth Begley/Juliana Gajic (Texas) defeat Plamena Kurteva/Paulina Schippers (Auburn) 8-4
Jacqueline Kasler/Taylor Schreimann (Auburn) defeat Adriana Castillo/Laura Verges (Southeastern Louisiana) 8-6
Jacqueline Kasler/Taylor Schreimann (Auburn) defeat Maja Kazimieruk/Jo Garvey (Houston) 8-4
Lauren Levant/Taylor Cohen (Auburn) defeat Wanda Beguelin/Reeta Raty (UT Pan American) 8-4
Lauren Levant/Taylor Cohen (Auburn) defeat Kayla Stevenson/Natalie Petaia (Sam Houston St.) 8-6