Illinois States Liina Suurvarik took the womens singles first-place trophy at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic by defeating No. 1 seed Raquel Kops-Jones, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 of California-Berkeley.
Suurvariks road to the championship included facing the tournaments second seed, Californias Catherine Lynch, in the semifinals match (6-2, 6-1). Suurvarik also defeated Stetson Elizabeth Hayden (6-2, 6-4) in round one and breezed by Sarah Foster (6-3, 6-0) who competed unattached in round two.
In an unusual doubles pairing Suurvarik teamed with Kops-Jones to win the womens doubles championship by defeating Kentuckys Leigh Bradwell and Jill Buckley 8-4.
It is a great win for Liina in a very prestigious tournament, said head coach Chris Hoover. Liina took it upon herself to have a great tournament. The tournament win should help to boost her ranking in the NCAA.
As a team Illinois State will have its first match of the spring season at Furman on January 25.
