Women’s tennis player takes wins with losses in preseason tournament
Senior Catherine Harrison lost in the first round of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. She had a great weekend however, progressing to the third round of the consolation bracket, upsetting former NCAA champion Danielle Collins of Virginia. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Ishan Ayyalasomayajula
Nov. 16, 2015 1:01 a.m.
Catherine Harrison had mixed emotions following her weekend in Flushing Meadows, New York, as the senior tennis player finished 2-2 at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
“It was slightly frustrating but overall extremely encouraging,” Harrison said.
In her first match, No. 22 Harrison fell 7-6(6), 6-3 to Clemson’s Joana Eidukonyte, the No. 11-ranked player and the eventual tournament runner up. The two were playing each other for the first time since the second round of last year’s NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship, where Eidukonyte was also victorious.
“(Eidukonyte) served really well, the first set was neck and neck, but she just edged me out a little bit,” said Harrison.
The UCLA senior said she was able to adjust her service game and calm her rattled nerves, improving to beat Kansas’ Anastasiya Rychagova 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the consolation tournament.
“(That was) the best I’ve served in about five years,” said Harrison, “(I) hit the most aces in my match … (as) I’ve hit since I played Wimbledon.”
Harrison’s strong play continued as she beat No. 8 Danielle Collins of Virginia, the 2014 NCAA singles champion, in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.
“I proved to myself that I could hang with these top girls and beat (them),” Harrison said.
Ending her run in the tournament, Harrison then fell 6-1, 7-5 to California’s Klara Fabikova. Harrison rallied back from an early deficit in the second set to tie it 5-5, but No. 16 Fabikova outlasted her.
“She played the best tennis I’ve ever seen her play,” Harrison said, “(Fabikova) was just ripping winners on every single shot and there’s not much you can do about that.”
Harrison said that she leaves New York encouraged but with areas to work on.
“(I want to) keep my momentum going forward during a point,” she said. “I tend to focus on recovering back for the next shot before I’ve finished the shot I’m hitting, causing me to miss (the shot).”
This was the final tournament appearance for Harrison in this calendar year. She plays next at the Freeman Memorial Championships in Las Vegas in January.
Compiled by Ishan Ayyalasomayajula, Bruin Sports contributor.
