Griffin wins No. 4 singles championship
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com
TUCSON, AZ – Sophomore Anna Claire Griffin (Iuka) finished her career as a Lady Indian on a high note by winning the No. 4 singles consolation championship at NJCAA Women's DI National Tennis Tournament in Tucson, Arizona.
Griffin defeated Morgan Task of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College 8-4 to advance before carrying her late-match momentum into the early stages of the championship match against Nikki Steiner of Lewis and Clark CC.
"I felt like if Anna-Claire could carry that same momentum she closed her morning match with that she would have a good shot at bringing home the championship," said Coach Paul Johnson.
And the 39-year coaching veteran was right.
Griffin dominated the match early by overpowering her opponent with her serve and adjusting to an over-the-top approach when Steiner tried to shorten the game to breeze to an 8-2 victory.
"You could just see it in her eyes when she took the court that she was dialed in and ready to play," said Johnson. "She did a great job establishing her serve early to dictate the match and made some really good in-match adjustments to seal the victory."
The road to the championship wasn't an easy one for Griffin as she upset No. 7 seed Claudia Maka of Morain Valley CC in the opening round of the consolation bracket and before knocking off Marina Schmditz of tradition NJCAA tennis power Harford CC.
"It was a perfect way to close out a very good career at ICC for Anna-Claire," said Johnson.
Hudson falls in semifinal tiebreaker
Sophomore Aliesha Hudson (Yazoo) dropped a hard-fought match in a tiebreaker to Lesly Espinoza of Laredo Community College (TX) in the No. 5 singles consolation semifinal round.
The two battled back-and-fourth until Espinoza caught a break in the tiebreaker to pick up a 9-8 (3) victory.
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