Novo Reaches Singles and Doubles Finals At Wolfpack Invitational
9/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 23, 2007
RALEIGH, N.C. - Junior Anna Novo (Caracas, Venezuela/El Angel) will look to make it a perfect 2-for-2 at tournaments this year, as the USC Upstate women's tennis player will get a chance to win both her singles and doubles flights at the Residence Inn North Wolfpack Invitational on the campus of North Carolina State University.
Novo defeated Pittsburgh's Kristy Borza, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the finals in her A1 singles flight, as she goes on to face North Carolina State's Neils Barringer in the finals on Sunday at 12 p.m. In the A2 doubles flight, Novo and freshman Emilia Milovanovic (Paris, France/CNED) will face familiar foes in teammates junior Maria Herrera (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and senior Susana Hernandez (Cali, Columbia/Colegio Americano) at 9 a.m.
"I'm a little embarrassed to confess, I was kind of nervous, because after beating the No. 1 seed I feel some pressure," Novo said of her singles match. "I was pretty confident with my game, though. I just played to win and played to do everything I've been practicing."
Novo and Milovanovic posted an 8-0 win over West Virginia's Prinz and Blaskovicova and added an 8-4 win against Pittsburgh's Elizabeth Adams and Christie D'Achille. Herrera and Hernandez posted a 9-8 (2) win against East Carolina's Hannah Priest and Luisa Borges in the first round before downing West Virginia's Stephanie La Fortune and Alexandra Kaluza in the quarterfinals. They took care of UNC Wilmington's pairing of Priscilla Roberts and Hartley Collins to advance to the finals with their teammates.
"Emilia has improved a lot since she came," Novo said. "I feel like I've already known her and how she plays a long time. Her serve is amazing. In the second match, we were down and we were just able to keep playing and improving to win the match."
Hernandez rebounded from an opening-round loss in the A2 singles flight, beating Gardner-Webb's Laura Kriett, 6-4, 6-2, to advance to the consolation finals. In the C1 singles flight, Herrera downed East Carolina's Alex Smith, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Milovanovic fell in the semifinals of the B2 flight to Borges, 6-4, 6-3.
The Residence Inn North Wolfpack Invitational will wrap up Sunday, with play resuming at 9 a.m.
