Final Stats 
Oct. 19, 2014
• 2014 USTA/ITA Midwest Regional
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Wisconsin women's tennis team's ITA Regional Championships ended under unfortunate circumstances Sunday afternoon, as Lauren Chypyha was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a family emergency that required her to fly directly to her hometown of Toronto, Ontario.
Everyone involved knew immediately that the situation at hand was bigger than tennis.
"It's unfortunate because I think she had put herself in a very good position to win," head coach Tina Samara said of her progress in the tournament. "But obviously right now we are only thinking about her and her family and hoping for the best for her."
Samara added that Chypyha had battled to reach the round of 16, and will bounce back from this setback as she has others this fall.
"She hasn't always been on the right side of lady luck this year," Samara explained. "She's one of two top-18 players that didn't get seeded and didn't get a bye, but at the end of the day you have to play the draw you get, and she has continued to fight through and overcome these things."
Chypyha will have some time to tend to her family matters without having to worry about tennis, as the spring season does not start until late January.
Coach Samara thinks that the team will also benefit from the break: "We have time now to really work on some things and not have to worry about matches coming up and get ourselves ready for the spring season."
Reflecting on the weekend, Samara said, "Overall, the team did well. The difference between a year ago and now is night and day. We're winning games against ranked teams and having some success that we weren't able to have last year."
The team will look to continue their progress and carry the success they experienced this fall into the spring season.
One of the major successes so far this year has been the emergence of UW's doubles teams as serious players in the college tennis circuit. The combination of Kelsey Grambeau and Lauren Burich was especially potent, as the duo ended the fall season with a doubles record of 13-3, including wins over opponents from Minnesota, Kentucky, and South Carolina.
Although they fell in a close loss on Saturday, their efforts have certainly been noticed by their head coach.
"Kelsey (Grambeau) and (Lauren) Burich really played well throughout, and they had a match point against that Notre Dame team. That doubles point is huge; I think we had five losses last year by a score of 4-3 where that point made the difference."
Wisconsin will look begin the spring season on January 24, at UW's Nielsen Tennis Stadium against Drake.
Oct. 18, 2014
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Lauren Chypyha has established herself as one of the Big Ten's elite singles players, and Saturday did nothing to disprove that.
The UW junior took down Alex Najaran of Michigan 7-5, 6-2, before toppling Northern Illinois' Nelle Youel in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Chypyha will now face DePaul's Ana Vladutu on Sunday afternoon with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line.
Lauren Burich continued her recent run of singles success against Illinois' Julia Jamieson, exacting some revenge on the Illini after Jamieson knocked UW sophomore Sydney Rider out of competition for the main draw. Burich topped Jamieson in both sets, winning 6-2, 7-5 but fell to Ohio State's Miho Kowase, 6-2, 6-1, in the Round of 36, ending her singles tournament.
In consolation singles, freshman Kelsey Grambeau topped familiar opponent Andrea Martinovska. Grambeau and Martinovska faced each other in Minneapolis earlier this season, with Grambeau coming up victorious, 6-2, 6-4. The result of the second match was very similar as Grambeau cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 victory to improve to 7-6 on the fall season.
While both doubles teams fought to the ends of their matches, both the team of Chypyha and Maria Avgerinos, as well as the duo of Grambeau and Burich fell Saturday in the second round of the tournament. Chypyha/Avgerinos fell to Yurovsky/Lee of Big Ten opponent, Michigan, 8-5, while Burich/Grambeau lost to Notre Dame's Vrabel/Miller combo, 8-7.
Results
Singles Main Draw:
Round of 48:
Lauren Chypyha (WIS) def. Alex Najaran (MICH) 7-5, 6-2
Lauren Burich (WIS) def. Julia Jamieson (ILL) 6-2, 7-5
Louise Kwong (ILL) def. Anastasia Tripolskaya (WIS) 6-3, 6-3
Round of 36:
Lauren Chypyha (WIS) def. Nelle Youel (NIU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Miho Kowase (OSU) def. Lauren Burich (WIS) 6-2, 6-1
Consolation Singles:
Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) def. Andrea Martinovska (EMU) 6-4, 6-0
Ekaterina Stepanova (WIS) def. Jarret Fisher (DP) 6-4, 6-0
Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) def. Molly O'Koniewski (ND) 3-6, 7-5, 10-6
Grace Tapak (ILL) def. Sydney Rider (WIS) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles:
Yurovsky/Lee (MICH) def. Chypyha/Avgerinos (WIS) 8-5
Vrabel/Miller (ND) def. Burich/Grambeau (WIS) 8-7
Oct. 17, 2014
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Lauren Burich has played some excellent doubles tennis so far this fall season, partnering with freshman Kelsey Grambeau to collect an 11-2 record with both losses coming against members of 2013-14's No. 4 team in the country, Georgia.
She got the chance to prove her mettle on the singles court Friday, facing off against Illinois' Madie Baillon. Baillon, a transfer from Illinois State, went 19-9 in singles a year ago. Burich came into the match holding a 4-6 singles record, having been on the wrong end of several close matches against top-notch opponents. While Friday's match was also against a very good opponent, on this day, Burich was better, winning both sets, 6-2, 6-3.
"I have been playing better every match," Burich explained. "I'm finally executing the game plans we have been working on. I'm happy"
Things did not fare quite as well for Burich's teammate, Sydney Rider, as she fell to Illinois senior Julia Jamieson, 6-1, 6-0.
In doubles action, Burich teamed up with Kelsey Grambeau to continue the duo's run of success in the fall season. The doubles combo knocked off Ohio State's team of Ferny Angeles Paz and Miho Kowase, 8-7 (5) before downing Mayu Sato and Marcy Huck of IPFW, 8-6 to advance to the third round of the tournament.
After a first round bye, Lauren Chypyha and Maria Avgerinos faced off against Eastern Michigan's Maria Paula Ribero and Ani Gogvadze. This was the second time this season a UW pairing has drawn this Eastern Michigan duo, as Kelsey Grambeau and Lauren Burich defeated the team at the Gopher Invitational, 8-5. The result was a bit closer in this match, though the outcome remained the same with a UW victory, 8-7 (5)
The Badgers will take the court again Saturday for the third round of doubles play starting at 9 a.m., followed by the opening two rounds of the singles main draw.
Results
Singles:
Lauren Burich (WIS) def. Madie Baillon (ILL) 6-2, 6-3
Julia Jamieson (ILL) def. Sydney Rider (WIS) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles:
Round of 48:
Casati/Boone (ILL) def. Rider/Stepanova (WIS) 8-3
Burich/Grambeau (WIS) def. Angeles-Paz/Kowase (OSU) 8-7 (5)
Chyphya/Averginos (WIS) - Bye
Round of 36:
Chyphya/Averginos (WIS) def. Gogvadze/Ribero (EMU) 8-7 (5)
Burich/Grambeau (WIS) def. Sato/Huck (IPFW) 8-6
Oct. 16, 2014
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- While Wisconsin's Lauren Chyphya and Anastasia Tripolskaya have already been named to the singles main draw of the ITA Midwest Regional Championships, two of their teammates are close to punching their ticket to the main dance card.
Sophomore Sydney Rider, who just missed out on the main draw and was named second on the alternate list, received a first round bye in the tournament. After waiting her turn, Rider faced Ali Dawson of Marquette for the second time this fall season. The two competitors matched up at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, where Dawson got the better of Wisconsin's Rider in three sets, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6. The tables turned in their second match, as Rider avenged the loss from a month ago, coming out on top, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.
"Sydney did a really good job of regrouping in the third set of her match today after struggling in the second set," head coach Tina Samara said. "Syd lost to Dawson earlier this fall, but showed how she's improved by rallying for that three-set win."
In the opening round of the qualifying bracket, junior Lauren Burich took on Martina Zerbola of Akron. It was the first time this season UW has faced an Akron player, and Burich represented the Badgers well, downing the Zip, 7-5, 6-2.
Next, Burich faced UIC junior Jackie Altansanrai, an All-America East selection during her time at Stony Brook, to see who would advance to the round of 16. Burich was pushed to a seventh game in both sets, but came out victorious, 7-5, 7-5.
"I thought Lauren Burich made some adjustments from an intensity standpoint from match one to match two," Samara added. "She stepped up and pulled out a really tough match in round two."
Kelsey Grambeau and Maria Avgerinos faced stiff Big Ten competition in the opening round of the qualifying bracket, with Grambeau matched against Michigan State's Emily Meyers and Avgerinos facing Jerricka Boone of Illinois. Grambeau forced a tie-breaker in the opening set, but ultimately fell, 7-6 (2), 6-2. Avgerinos also had a highly competitive match, pushing Boone to a third set before meeting the same fate as her freshman teammate, losing 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
The Badgers are back in action tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. for qualifying singles and 2 p.m. for the start of the doubles tournament.
Round of 48:
Sydney Rider -- Bye
Lauren Burich (WIS) def. Martina Zerbola (Akron) 7-5, 6-2
Jerricka Boone (ILL) def. Maria Avgerinos (WIS) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Emily Meyers (MSU) def. Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) 7-6 (2), 6-2
Round of 36:
Sydney Rider (WIS) def. Ali Dawson (MARQ) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
Lauren Burich (WIS) def. Jackie Altansanrai (UIC) 7-5, 7-5
