University of North Texas Athletics
Surapaneni Wins Flight Championship
9/24/2018 3:06:00 PM | Women's Tennis
HOUSTON —Battling through rain delay after rain delay, Mean Green tennis player Nidhi Surapaneni began her sophomore campaign with a championship to her name.
Surapaneni won three consecutive singles matches in route to claiming the Rice Invite's Flight Seven championship late Sunday in Houston.
"Nidhi was brilliant in every aspect," said associate head coach Jeff Hammond. "She maintained a great attitude and approach, regardless of the score and stress levels during the match. She is champion-minded and deserved to win her flight at the tournament."
She claimed the championship by beating Stephen F. Austin's Darinka Tiboldi 6-1, 5-7, 10-7 in the finals.
The final match was her second match of the day. Due to the crazy weather, Surapaneni was forced to play her semifinal match also on Sunday. She reached the final round by knocking off an Oklahoma opponent in comeback fashion.
The championship for the Mean Green was their second of the Rice Invite.
Senior Tamuna Kutubidze beat highly touted ranked opponents and the constant weather delays over the three day tournament on her way to capturing the Rice Invite's Flight One singles championship Sunday afternoon a little before Surapaneni.
Due to the rain delays on Saturday, Kutubidze was also forced to play two singles matches on Sunday and won both. Claiming the flight title with a 6-4, 6-7(4,) 6-3, victory over South Florida's Ana Roman Dominguez.
"This was the best tournament so far that I played within these three years," said Kutubidze. "I was very consistent with wins. I was confident, I moved well, even though there was moments when my intensity would drop a bit, but I was able to manage my game."
Kutubidze began the event, which kicked-off the 2018-19 season, with a straight set victory over Alabama's And Daniell who is ranked No. 70 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's preseason poll. It is the highest ranked singles opponent Kutubidze had ever beaten.
On Saturday, severe weather postponed Kutubidze's semifinals match against SMU's Karina Traxler multiples times before it was finally suspended in the middle of the second-set and Kutubidze leading, 6-3, 5-5 (40-30).
When they returned to the courts on Sunday, there was no drop-off for the Mean Green senior.
"I could not be happier with the grit and determination that Tamuna and Nidhi showed," Hammond siad.
Junior Alexandra Heczey also had a strong showing in the Mean Green's opening tournament. Heczey placed third in the fifth flight after beating Giovanna Fioretti, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the final round.
In total, the seven UNT women who competed in the three-day event won 19 of the 28 (68 percent) total matches.
"The team grew this weekend and showed the maturity of being upperclassmen," Hammond said. "We have the same personnel as last year, but this is a much different team now. Their experience is beginning to show."
DAY 3 RESULTS
Semifinals
Kutubidze def. Traxler(SMU); 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4
Finals
Kutubidze def. Roman(USF); 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3
Semifinals
Surapaneni def. Miller(Oklahoma); 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Finals
Surapaneni def. Tiboldi(SFA); 6-1, 5-7, 10-7
Semifinals
Chitdara(Houston) def. Heczey; 6-7 (5), 2-6
Third Place
Heczey def. Fioretti(McNeese St) 7-6 (4), 6-3
Extra Matches
Sasaki def. Reinecke(TAMCC); 6-2, 6-1
Babic def. Iwaniuk (Northwestern State); 6-2, 6-1
Chobanyan(SHSU) def. Tranberg; 6-4, 5-7, 10-6
Pellicier(USF) def. Babic; 6-3, 6-4, 11-9
De La Luz(SHSU) def. Sasaki; 6-1, 6-0
Tranberg def. Hill(SHSU) 6-0, 6-0
