Tennis Splits Weekend at Gates Tennis Center
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's tennis team split its final home weekend from the Gates Tennis Center and clinched a spot in the 2016 GLIAC Tournament with Sunday's win over Findlay. The Huskies fell 7-2 to Tiffin Saturday and rebounded with a dominant 9-0 victory over the Oilers.
"It was good to bounce back today," Tech coach Kevin Kalinec said. "Findlay is a better team than their record shows. I told the team that if we played as well as we did against Tiffin yesterday we would have a good day, and we actually played better."
Vicky Quinde won three of her four matches on the weekend while Natalia Parra Alvarez went 2-for-3. The two teamed up for a 9-8 win in doubles against the Dragons. Quinde won her singles match Sunday and played doubles with Kat Donovan, earning an 8-1 win. Natalia Parra Alvarez took down her singles opponent Sunday 6-1 and 6-2.
Allenca Rolim won (6-1, 6-0) the lone singles match for the Black and Gold Saturday.
Kwang Suthijindawong and Sandra Cvetanovic won their No. 1 doubles match Sunday 8-3. Paola Quintana and Allenca Rolim won in the No. 2 spot, coming back from a 7-4 deficit.
"Paola and Allenca had a big come back today," Kalinec said. "They got down early in their doubles match. I pushed them a bit at the break and they responded."
Kwang Suthijindawong (6-2, 6-1), Paola Quintana (6-3, 6-3), Sandra Cvetanovic (6-1, 6-1), Vicky Quinde (6-0, 7-5), and Kat Donovan (6-4, 6-3) also won their singles matches Sunday.
Seniors Kwang Suthijindawong and Kat Donovan played their final home matches.
"We knew Kwang was going to be solid when she came in, and she developed into one of the best players in Michigan Tech history," said Kalinec. "I've never seen a player that has the combination of competitiveness and kindness. She has that killer instinct on the court but always displays great sportsmanship. Every team we play comments on how nice and respectful she is.
"I wasn't sure how much time Kat was going to get when she came in. She has taken advantage of her opportunities and works so hard in practice every single day. Nobody sets higher expectations for herself, and our team, than her. She is just a joy to have and epitomizes what we want in our student-athletes here at Michigan Tech."
The Huskies wrap up the regular season at Lake Superior State next Saturday (Oct. 22) and await the final seeding of the GLIAC Tournament which is October 28-29 at Northwood.
