The fall season is normally the time for Washington’s tennis teams to get back into practice and build up their skills for the next year. For the women’s team’s sole freshman, Vanessa Wong, practice has already paid off as she beat out many experienced players at the Jack Kramer Club Invitational over the weekend to win the tournament’s title.
In what was the Huskies’ final event of the season, Wong continued her climb to the top of the competition as her teammates fell before the quarterfinals. As she entered the final rounds Wong’s games pushed to three sets, beginning with her match against Oregon’s Julia Eshet who had previously faced off against the team during the Husky Invite. This time, however, Wong was able to push back against Eshet’s rapid shots, winning a close game (6-7, 6-4, 7-6).
In the semifinals, Wong was paired against No. 1 seed Laura Gulbe where she was able to win her first set (6-3) but then lost her momentum in the second set, losing (3-6).
Throughout the fall season, Wong, who went without a win in the UW’s previous tournament, has shown a calm focus on the work at hand. It showed Sunday, as she bounced back to win the third set (6-3) and go through to the tournament finals.
The tournament was also the final action of the fall for the UW men’s tennis team. Juniors Kawika Lam and Enzo Sommer had the Huskies’ best finish of the weekend, reaching the semifinals of the doubles tournament.
Reach contributing writer Elizabeth Swanberg at development@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @EWSwanberg
