The Grinnell College women's tennis team finished its 2009 regular-season campaign on a solid note Wednesday, posting a 5-4 victory at Central College.
Grinnell trailed 2-1 after doubles play, with the victory coming from Jill Akiyama' 10 and Kelsey Picken '10. They won 8-3 at the No. 3 slot.
But the Pioneers roared back in singles with four wins, those coming from Akiyama at No. 2, Constanza Alarcon '13 at No. 3, Tatyana Sukharnikova '12 at No. 4 and Elizabeth Spears '11 at No. 6. Akiyama and Spears won in two sets, while the other two won in super-tiebreakers.
"This was a great overall win for our team," said Grinnell coach Andy Hamilton. "While we struggled in doubles again, we showed a great amount of fight in singles. I thought Jill and Kelsey's win at third doubles showed their strong play, and it was really great to see Jill get back on the winning side in singles against a quality opponent. When she's on in singles, she really fires us up.
"I also want to compliment Constanza and Tatyana for come-from-behind victories in singles after losing their first sets," he added. "They showed great resilience with winning the second set and super-tiebreakers. Constanza was down 5-2 to win 7-6 in the second set, which was due to her ability to get more focused, move on her feet and get more aggressive. We scheduled this match at this point of the season because we knew it would be a great challenge, and my hat's off to a great Central team for making this very competitive."
Grinnell improved to 14-2 on the season, while Central fell to 8-6. The Pioneers have more than a week off before competing in the Midwest Conference Championships.
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