MARIA RESENDE and KHALIUN ENKHJARGAL ADVANCE TO FLORIDA.
The road to Fort Myers began the summer of 2005 for Maria
Resende, a junior
classmen from Uberaba, Brazil. She had set her sights on the
Wilson ITA Regional Championships. Every day in the summer, she stuck to her
workout regimen in the newly equipped weight/exercise room to get stronger and
fitter. She prepared to endure the demands of the tournament.
This weekend (October 1st), Maria realized that goal to capture the
singles and doubles titles. In her quest, Maria became the sixth LCSC women's
player to win an ITA regional title. The five before her were Kishani
Wickramasinghe (1994), Rebecca Ainsworth (1996,97,98), Christine Dickson (1999),
Aibika Kalsarieva (2001, 2002) and Pei Yuin Keng (2003). She will advance to the Wilson ITA Small College
National Tennis Championships in Fort Myers, Florida - hosted by Florida Gulf
Coast University from October 13-16th with her doubles partner, Khaliun (Helen)
Enkhjargal. They are the seventh Warrior tandem with the honors as ITA Pacific
Northwest Regional Doubles Champions.
Maria, seeded third in the regional singles event outplayed all her
opponents in straight sets.
"It is fun to watch her game develop over the course of a year. She is one of
the taller ones on the team, and she is learning how to use her height and
strength. She added the "serve and volley" component to her clay court style
game last season, so now she can come at you from all parts of the court ".
Maria and Khaliun will represent the Pacific Northwest Region. Khaliun, a senior
from Ulan Baatar, Mongolia is also making her debut at the National Small
College Tournament. (She returned from the summer vacation at home as the newly
crowned Mongolian Women's Champion). They will be joined by seven other regional
winners in singles and doubles for the NAIA division in Fort Meyers.
Players are guaranteed three matches in each event. Play will begin on Thursday
with two singles matches and one doubles. On Friday, one singles match and two
doubles matches will be played. Maria will be a busy girl for two days.
Congratulations to Maria and Khaliun for their fine performances.
