Seton Hall University
Navy Blue & Gold Invitational
Pairing of Kim, Shoemaker Highlights Day Two at Navy
10/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Kim, who came into the weekend tied atop the rankings in singles wins for the Pirates, has come in and made her presence felt for the program already. Shoemaker has joined with her new doubles partner to form a duo to beat all competition in sight on Saturday in the B Flight.
After a first-round bye, Kim and Shoemaker toppled the Delaware pairing of Christina Harrington and Abby Martinez, 8-5, to advance to the quarterfinals. Amanda Keller and Allie Pavlansky of Navy put the blue and white tandem to the test in the semis, but Kim and Shoemaker did not have much trouble, rolling to an 8-4 victory.
"I thought Katie and Maddie played very effectively," head coach Greg Wyzykowski said. "Three tournaments in, it's good to see they are playing at this level." They will square off against Georgetown's Sophia Barnard and Madeline Foley in Sunday's finals.
The pairings of freshmen Marisa Quevedo (Tyler, Texas) and Luize Liva Strike (Riga, Latvia) along with juniors Isabell Klingert (Oberbalch, Germany) and Julia Keenan (Greenland, N.H.) were unable to record a win on the day in doubles, but in singles, six of seven Pirates found victories.
Senior Anna Guryanova (Moscow, Russia), who has stepped up as a team leader for the program already in her final year, has advanced to the fourth singles flight semifinals on Sunday. Guryanova found herself in a tight match against Navy's Summer Ralston in her first match, but pulled out a 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 victory.
Mary Washington's Ashley Price stood between Guryanova and a berth to the final four, but the senior made quick business of her opponent, dominating 6-2, 6-1. Strike advanced to the quarterfinals in her third straight tournament, but the freshman fell to LIU Brooklyn's Marine Dans, 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 in what was a highly competitive match. Strike held a 9-6 edge, but Dans rallied with five unanswered points to steal the match.
"I didn't think we put it all together today," Wyzykowski said. "Just as we saw Friday, we're competing in matches, but I just think it comes down to finishing now. We dominated in consolation matches and that's a good sign. But now, we have to make that translate in the future."
The third and final day of the Navy Blue and Gold Invitational begins at 9 a.m. on Sunday. Follow @SHU_Tennis on twitter and SHUPirates.com for updates.
