Tulsa, Okla. – After the first day of competition at the Central Region Championships in Tulsa, sophomore Tiffany Robertson (Blenheim, N.Z.) and senior Rachel Hatley (Burleson, Texas) have advanced to the qualifying round of 16 which will be played tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m (C.S.T.). UNM’s Tjasa Suvak (Belca, Slovenia), Maja Kovacek (Pula, Croatia) and Michelle Heidbrink (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) will be in the main draw of the championships tomorrow. The doubles teams of Suvak/Kovacek, Heidbrink/Robertson and Ruiz-Fabrega/Hatley will also be in the main draw tomorrow evening. Twenty-seven schools are competing in the prestigious five-day event that features some of the top players in the central region .
In the Round of 64, Robertson defeated opponent Tara Goedjen of Iowa State, 6-1, 6-0. In the same round, Hatley beat Timberly Greenley (Tulsa) in a decisive 6-2, 6-2 match. UNM’s Maria Ruiz-Fabrega (Albuquerque, N.M.) was not able to get past Tara Porter of BYU in the first round and was defeated 6-3, 4-6, (10-6).
The duo of Robertson and Hatley were also victorious in their Round of 32 matches. Robertson easily defeated Caroline Pollock of Utah State, 6-1, 6-1 while Hatley went on to beat Jessica Simosa of Kansas State, 6-4, 6-3.
Tomorrow in the qualifying draw of 16, Robertson will face Patricia Chine of Wyoming and Hatley will match up against Yalanti Santi of Oklahoma.
Check back tomorrow for results from day two of the Central Region Championships.I