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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Melissa Saiontz Finishes Third at USTA National Clay Court Championships
July 24, 2006 | Women's Tennis
Princeton incoming freshman women's tennis player Melissa Saiontz, the No. 2-ranked player in the nation in the USTA Girls' 18 division, finished in third place at this past week's USTA National Clay Court Championships at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tenn.
Saiontz, who could move up to the No. 1 ranking nationally this week after her strong performance, was the No. 2 seed at the tournament and defeated three seeded players on the way to the semifinals. She fell to eventual champion Mallory Burdette in the semifinals, 6-4 and 6-1, but rebounded to take the third-place match over Maria Sanchez, 6-2 and 7-6 (7-5).
The Miami, Fla., native, one of three highly-ranked players in Princeton's incoming class, lost just three games total in her first two wins at the tournament over Taylor Morgan and Marisa Lambropoulos. She then got past Carolyn McVeigh in the next round when McVeigh retired in the second set and won her Round of 16 match over Keilly Ulery in three sets, winning 6-3 in the third.
She then advanced to the semifinals with an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory over Chelsea Preeg in the quarterfinals.
Saiontz also joined with Ragini Acharya of Pulaski, Va., to form the No. 1-seeded doubles team at the event, and the two advanced to the semifinals of the 64-team draw with four straight set wins. Their run to the doubles championship was halted with a tough three-set loss to Alexandra Anghelescu and Connie Hsu in the semifinals.