SEMIFINALS SET FOR SATURDAY AT 14th ANNUAL BOYD TINSLEY WOMEN’S CLAY COURT CLASSIC
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., May 1, 2015 – Quarterfinal action wrapped up on Friday at the 14th Annual Boyd Tinsley Women’s Clay Court Classic, the USTA Pro Circuit event being held this week at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. Ukrainian qualifier Elizaveta Ianchuk, Americans Allie Kiick and Katerina Stewart and Argentina’s Florencia Molinero each won their respective quarterfinal matches on Friday and will move on to Saturday’s singles semifinals. Only four doubles teams remain as the semifinal round is set for Saturday.
Ianchuk had unfinished business to take care of to start her long day on Friday, as her match with Jessica Pegula resumed after being suspended due to rain on Thursday. When play resumed, the match was tied at 3-3 in the final set, and Ianchuk prevailed, 6-4, to advance to face the tournament’s lone seeded singles competitor still remaining, No. 3 Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal. Ianchuk carried the momentum into her second match, taking the first set, 7-5, on a Larcher de Brito double fault. Ianchuk kept it rolling and took the second set and the match, despite sustaining a left ankle injury that resulted in the use of crutches. When asked if she will be able to play on Saturday, Ianchuk responded, “I hope so.”
Ianchuk, ranked No. 338, will face Kiick (No. 295) in the semifinals on Saturday, as Kiick, the 2013 tournament runner-up, had a relatively easy time against Russia’s Irina Khromacheva, 6-2, 6-1, on Friday.
On the other side of the bracket, Stewart (No. 276) looks to add to her Har-Tru Wild Card Challenge point total after starting the week in second place. Stewart hung on against Canada’s Francoise Abanda, 6-4, 6-4, on Friday, and will now face 237th-ranked Molinero, who ended the impressive run of 658th-ranked American wild card Usue Maitane Arconada, 6-2, 6-1, on Friday.
In doubles, Brazil’s Gabriela Ce and Australia’s Jessica Moore rallied to win their rain-delayed match from Thursday against Americans Samantha Crawford and Emily J. Harman. Crawford and Harman won the first set on Thursday before the match was suspended until Friday. Ce and Moore took the second set to force a match-deciding, 10-point tiebreak, and held on to win, 10-7, and advance to the semifinal round.
At 10:00 AM Saturday, Ce and Moore will face Abanda and Maria Sancez, who upended the top-seeded pair of Paula Cristina Goncalves and Molinero on Friday, 6-3, 6-2, just before rain suspended play at around 6:45.
Third-seeded Olga Ianchuk (Elizaveta’s younger sister) and Khromacheva won their quarterfinal match against Jacqueline Cako and Vojislava Lukic on Friday, and about 30 minutes later took the court for their semifinal match against No. 2 Chieh-Yu Hsu and Justyna Jegiolka. That match began just after 6:30 on Friday, but the competitors were only able to get three games in before play was called for the day. When play resumes Saturday, Ianchuk and Khromacheva will have a 2-1 lead in the first set, and that is the only match scheduled to be played on Court 7.
The two singles semifinal matches will follow the Ce/Moore vs. Abanda/Sanchez match on Stadium Court.
Please see below for complete results from Friday along with Saturday’s semifinal schedule.
14th Annual Boyd Tinsley Women’s Clay Court Classic
Friday, May 1
At Boar’s Head Sports Club
Charlottesville, VA
Purse: $50,000
Surface: Clay-outdoor
Singles – Second Round
Elizaveta Ianchuk, Ukraine def. Jessica Pegula, United States, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Singles – Quarterfinals
Elizaveta Ianchuk, Ukraine def. Michelle Larcher de Brito, Portugal [3], 7-5, 6-4
Katerina Stewart, United States def. Francoise Abanda, Canada, 6-4, 6-4
Florencia Molinero, Argentina def. Usue Maitane Arconada, United States, 6-2, 6-1
Allie Kiick, United States def. Irina Khromacheva, Russia, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles – Quarterfinals
Francoise Abanda, Canada / Maria Sanchez, United States def. Paula Cristina Goncalves, Brazil / Florencia Molinero, Argentina [1], 6-3, 6-2
Olga Ianchuk, Ukraine / Irina Khromacheva, Russia [3] def. Jacqueline Cako, United States / Vojislava Lukic, Serbia, 6-4, 6-4
Gabriela Ce, Brazil / Jessica Moore, Australia def. Samantha Crawford, United States / Emily J. Harman, United States, 4-6, 7-5, 10-7
Schedule for Saturday, May 2
Court 3/Stadium, starting at 10:00 AM
Francoise Abanda, Canada / Maria Sanchez, United States vs. Gabriela Ce, Brazil / Jessica Moore, Australia
Not before 11:30
Elizaveta Ianchuk, Ukraine vs. Allie Kiick, United States
Not before 1:00 PM
Florencia Molinero, Argentina vs. Katerina Stewart, United States
Court 7, starting at 11:00 AM
Olga Ianchuk, Ukraine / Irina Khromacheva, Russia [3] vs. Chieh-Yu Hsu, Taiwan / Justyna Jegiolka, Poland [2]
—S. Radcliffe for USTA
Tennis Atlantic 
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