Falcon Duo's Run at Regionals Ends in Semis

Oct. 16, 2011

The magical run by Air Force women's tennis players Tahlia Smoke and Melissa Cecil came to an end Saturday in the semifinals of the 2011 ITA Mountain Region Women's Tennis Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. The Falcon duo advanced further than any other AFA women in a Division I regional championship when they stunned the tournament's No. 2-seeded team of Aleksandra Josifoska and Lucia Batta from UNLV, 8-6, in the quarterfinals.

Unfortunately, their run was halted in the semifinals when Heather Davidson and Laurence Pelchat of Montana saved three match points and rallied for a 9-7 victory.

"It was a great run by Melissa and Tahlia," said Air Force head coach Kim Gidley. "Every win at this tournament was a great win. To win four straight matches and beat the No. 2 seed was a great accomplishment."

Also on Saturday, the rest of the team won two dual matches at home, blanking Texas-Permian Basin and Colorado College, 7-0.

Air Force 7, UTPB 0
Doubles
1. Tiffany Tran / Christine Molina (AF) def. Breigh Shotwell / Olivia Baltazar, 8-2
2. Marcelli Magday / Natasha Rizvi (AF) def. Ynez Sanchez / Jordan Turner, 8-4
3. Tasha Hueffner / Ali Preiss (AF) def. Brittany Farmer / Melissa Behrends, 8-1

Singles
1. Tran def. Shotwell, 6-0, 6-0
2. Hueffner def. Sanchez, 6-3, 6-0
3. Molina def. Baltazar, 6-1, 6-0
4. Rizvi def. Turner, 6-0, 6-0
5. Magday def. Farmer, 6-1, 6-2
6. Preiss def. Tiffany Mitchell, 6-1, 6-2

Air Force 7, Colorado College 0
Doubles
1. Hannah Dake / Hueffner def. Deanna Thirkell / Katie Patterson, 8-2
2. Tran / Molina def. Mary Edman / Maggie Harwood, 8-4
3. Rizvi / Magday def. Caila Criss / Maddy Bush, 8-1

Singles
1. Dake def. Thirkell, 6-2, 6-0
2. Tran def. Patterson, 6-0, 6-0
3. Molina def. Criss, 6-1, 6-3
4. Rizvi def. Edman, 6-1, 6-0
5. Magday def. Harwood, 6-2, 6-0
6. Preiss def. Leeya Maizels, 7-5, 7-6 (5)

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Players Mentioned

Melissa Cecil

Hannah Dake

Marcelli Magday

Christine Molina

Natasha Rizvi

Tahlia Smoke

Tiffany Tran

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