DALLAS — Miriam Rosell Canudas posted her second third-place finish in as many weeks to lead the UTSA women's tennis team at this past weekend's SMU Invitational.
Rosell Canudas, who won two of her three matches in the No. 1 Singles Draw, opened play on Friday with a 7-6, 6-1 victory against SMU's Ana Perez. The senior from Torello, Spain, then fell in two sets the next day against Gonzaga's Sophie Whittle (7-5, 7-5), but she rebounded with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 triumph against SMU's Sarai Monarrez en route to placing third.
Meanwhile, Charleen Tiwari advanced to the No. 5 Draw Championship Match with wins on both Friday and Saturday, but she was unable to play in the final due to injury. The freshman from Perth, Australia, downed Gonzaga's Alex Bourguignon by scores of 7-5, 7-5 in her tournament opener and that was followed by a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Northwestern State's Vladislava Litvinova.
Lina Hallgren bounced back from her opening-day setback to UT Arlington's Valeria Lopez in the No. 6 Draw (6-2, 6-3) to play for the bracket's consolation title on Sunday, but the senior from Stockholm, Sweden, was unable to get past SMU's Macie Elliott after winning the opening set (6-7, 6-0, 6-2). Hallgren advanced to the final with a 7-6, 6-4 triumph against Air Force's Meredith Laskey on Saturday.
UTSA will return to action in two weeks at the USTA/ITA Texas Regionals. The four-day tournament is scheduled to get underway on Thursday, Oct. 20, in Waco.
SMU Invitational (UTSA results)
Friday, Oct. 7
Singles — #1 Draw Quarterfinals
Miriam Rosell Canudas (UTSA) def. Ana Perez (SMU) 7-6, 6-1
Singles — #5 Draw Quarterfinals
Charleen Tiwari (UTSA) def. Alex Bourguignon (Gonzaga) 7-5, 7-5
Singles — #6 Draw Quarterfinals
Valeria Lopez (UT Arlington) def. Lina Hallgren (UTSA) 6-2, 6-3
Singles — #8 Draw Quarterfinals
Carrie Casey (Sam Houston State) def. Diya Menon (UTSA) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles — #1 Draw Quarterfinals
Sharapova/Wright (SMU) def. Rosell Canudas/Tiwari (UTSA) 6-3
Doubles — #4 Draw Round Robin
Hallgren/Menon (UTSA) def. Henry/Ryan (Abilene Christian) 7-6
Saturday, Oct. 8
Singles — #1 Draw Semifinals
Sophie Whittle (Gonzaga) def. Rosell Canudas (UTSA) 7-5, 7-5
Singles — #5 Draw Semifinals
Tiwari (UTSA) def. Vladislava Litvinova (Northwestern State) 6-2, 6-0
Singles — #6 Draw Consolation Semifinals
Hallgren (UTSA) def. Meredith Laskey (Air Force) 7-6, 6-4
Singles — #8 Draw Consolation Semifinals
Judit Gargallo (Northwestern State) def. Menon (UTSA) 6-4, 6-0
Doubles — #1 Draw Consolation Semifinals
Apollo/Whittle (Gonzaga) def. Rosell Canudas/Tiwari (UTSA) no score reported
Doubles — #4 Draw Round Robin
Hallgren/Menon (UTSA) def. Eggink/Hebbard (Marquette) 6-1
Sunday, Oct. 9
Singles — #1 Draw Third-Place Match
Rosell Canudas (UTSA) def. Sarai Monarrez (SMU) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6
Singles — #5 Draw Championship Match
Ioana Popescu (Louisiana-Monroe) def. Tiwari (UTSA) walkover (injury)
Singles — #6 Draw Consolation Final
Macie Elliott (SMU) def. Hallgren (UTSA) 6-7, 6-0, 6-2
Singles — #8 Draw Consolation
Rachel Sadiq (Incarnate Word) def. Menon (UTSA) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles — #4 Draw Round Robin
Friedrick/Mitchell (Sam Houston State) def. Hallgren/Menon (UTSA) 6-4