Wake Forest University
National Indoor Championships
Deacon Tennis Players Open Competition at National Indoor Championships
11/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Nov. 8, 2001
FARMERS BRANCH, Texas - Wake Forest tennis players Bea Bielik (Valley Stream, N.Y.), Janet Bergman (Pinehurst, N.C.) and David Loewenthal (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) all posted victories on the first day of competition at the Omni Hotels National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.
Thirty-two singles players and 16 doubles teams in both the men's and women's brackets are competing in the event, taking place at the Brookhaven Country Club. The tournament is one of three national championship events contested in collegiate tennis this season.
Bielik, seeded third in the singles bracket and ranked No. 1 nationally, won her first-round match over 25th-ranked Katja Kovac of Baylor, 6-0, 6-4. Bielik, a junior, advances to face 10th-ranked Gabriela Lastra of Stanford at 1:00 p.m. on Friday.
Loewenthal, a sophomore, pulled off a big upset on Thursday, defeating fourth-seeded Tiago Ruffoni of Auburn in three sets, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 7-5. Loewenthal will face Middle Tennessee's Robert Gutsafsson in second-round action Friday at 10:00 a.m.
Bergman, a senior, lost her first-round singles match to 15th-ranked Jewel Peterson of Southern California, 7-5, 6-3, but will compete in a consolation match on Friday against Erin Burdette of Stanford at 1:00 p.m.
The WFU tandem of Bergman and Bielik, ranked second nationally and seeded third in this weekend's bracket, opened doubles competition with two wins on Thursday. After securing an opening round win over Beverly Dawson and Irena Tereschenko of Texas Tech, 8-3, the Deacon duo secured a quarterfinal win over Carolina Mayorga and Sarah Witten of Kentucky, 8-4.
Bergman and Bielik, the highest seed still alive in the doubles bracket, will face unseeded Lauren Barnikow and Erin Burdette of Stanford in Friday's semifinal match.
Second-round and quarterfinal singles in both the men's and women's brackets will take place on Friday. The tournament wraps up on Sunday.
