Milchutskey Captures Flight C Singles Title at Brown Invitational
Sep 29 | Women's Tennis
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers freshman Maryana Milchutskey (Holmdel, N.J.) won the flight C singles title to pace the Scarlet Knights women's tennis team at the Brown Invitational in Providence, R.I. this past weekend.
Many Scarlet Knights performed well in the four team field that included Syracuse, Boston University and host Brown. Sophomore Amy Zhang (Plano, Texas) advanced to the semifinals in the A flight of singles by topping Brown's Carissa Aboubakare 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (6). Zhang fell to eventual champion Francine Whu of BU 6-3, 6-4.
"We came out against very strong teams and we won about 50 percent of our matches which is about right when the teams are evenly matched and competing well," said head coach Ben Bucca. "This was a perfect first full tournament for us and I was pleased the way the girls competed and handled themselves during the entire weekend. The team has laid a foundation for competing against the best tennis programs on the east coast. With hard work and determination, we have high hopes for a very successful year."
En route to her first career title, Milchutskey picked up four singles victories.
"Maryana, playing in her first tournament, showed a great competitive spirit and desire in winning her flight," said Bucca. "She has a great future ahead of her."
Other big wins for RU came in doubles action as the duos of Polina Zarester (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Morgan Ivey (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and Leonora Slatnick (Austin, Texas) and Zhang got into the win column. Zaretser and Ivey picked up a win in Flight A, while Slatnick and Zhang captured victory in Flight B doubles. Junior Caitlin Baker (Altoona, Pa.) defeated Ashley Butler of Brown 7-5, 6-1 in the round of 16 in Flight C singles action as well.
Rutgers will next compete at the USTA Invitational in Queens, N.Y. from Oct. 11-13.
