CORPUS CHRISTI — Charleen Tiwari won the singles backdraw title to highlight UTSA's three days of action at this weekend's Islander Open.
After dropping her opening match on Friday morning to Sam Houston State's Khee Yee Wee (6-1, 6-4), Tiwari cruised through the consolation bracket with four consecutive victories to win the crown. The sophomore from Perth, Australia, rebounded from her setback with a 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-2) win against Texas-Rio Grande Valley's Dominique Fuster on Friday afternoon. She then topped Sam Houston State's Carrie Casey in straight sets (6-4, 6-2) the next morning and followed that with a 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-1) triumph against UTRGV's Anastasia Belyaeva to advance to Sunday's final. Tiwari picked up the tournament title in a walkover against UTRGV's Dominique Ibarra.
Diya Menon picked up a pair of straight-sets wins in the singles round robin draw during the first two days of the event. The freshman from Plano downed Incarnate Word's Jacy Stewart by a score of 6-0, 6-3 on Friday and she followed that up with a 6-3, 6-4 victory the next day against Texas-Rio Grande Valley's Chloe Leclere.
Menon and Tiwari also teamed up for a 6-1 doubles win against UTRGV's Tara Donaho and Ibarra in Friday's opening round.
The Roadrunners will return to the courts next weekend at the Rice Invitational. The three-day tournament is scheduled to begin on Friday, Sept. 23.
2016 Islander Open
Friday, Sept. 16
Singles — First Round
Laura Cabrera (UTSA) def. Ivanova Polina (Northwestern State) 6-4, 6-4
Victoria Kareh (Incarnate Word) def. Denisa Ibrahimovic (UTSA) 6-2, 7-5
Mila Milanovic (Sam Houston State) def. Kylee Kato (UTSA) 6-2, 6-3
Ema Barkovic (Sam Houston State) def. Sonia Madroñal Medina (UTSA) 6-1, 6-7, 1-0 (10-8)
Khee Yee Wee (Sam Houston State) def. Charleen Tiwari (UTSA) 6-1, 6-4
Singles — Second Round
Fabienne Gehwart (Sam Houston State) def. Cabrera (UTSA) no score reported
Singles — Backdraw First Round
Kato (UTSA) def. Marine Darzyan (UTRGV) 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (12-10)
Tiwari (UTSA) def. Dominique Fuster (UTRGV) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-2)
Dominique Ibarra (UTRGV) def. Ibrahimovic (UTSA) 6-2, 6-3
Jasmin Bucata (Lamar) def. Madroñal Medina (UTSA) 6-4, 6-4
Singles — Round Robin Draw
Marina Vicens Miquel (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) def. Diya Menon (UTSA) 6-1, 6-2
Menon (UTSA) def. Jacy Stewart (Incarnate Word) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles — First Round
Menon/Tiwari (UTSA) def. Donaho/Ibarra (UTRGV) 6-1
Avram/Gerasimova (Northwestern State) def. Cabrera/Kato (UTSA) 6-2
Ivanova/Litvinova (Northwestern State) def. Ibrahimovic/Madroñal (UTSA) 6-3
Saturday, Sept. 17
Singles — Backdraw Quarterfinals
Tiwari (UTSA) def. Carrie Casey (Sam Houston State) 6-4, 6-2
Ibarra (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) def. Kato (UTSA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
Singles — Backdraw Semifinals
Tiwari (UTSA) def. Anastasia Belyaeva (UTRGV) 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-1)
Singles — Round Robin Draw
Menon def. Chloe Leclere (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles — Quarterfinals
Dzinic/Vives def. Menon/Tiwari (UTSA) 6-0
Sunday, Sept. 18
Singles — Backdraw Final
Tiwari (UTSA) def. Ibarra (UTRGV) walkover