Davidson claims title as new season nears
8/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
University of Montana sophomore Heather Davidson won the Johnson Ranch Round Up women???s open championship last weekend at the Johnson Ranch Racquet Club in Roseville, Calif. In sweeping to the title with four straight-set victories, Davidson downed a pair of sophomores from the Naval Academy and two nationally-ranked juniors from northern California.
Davidson, who was the tournament???s No. 4 seed, opened play with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Stefanie Ton, who was a freshman last year at Navy. Ton went 11-3 last spring for the Midshipmen at No. 3 singles.
To advance to the championship match against Navy???s Emani Decquir, Davidson had to get through the Forlinis of Folsom, Calif.
Davidson topped Lily Forlini, currently ranked 401st nationally among high school preps, 6-3, 6-1, then downed Chloe Forlini, ranked 229th, 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals.
Chloe Forlini had previously knocked off the tournament???s No. 1 seed, Tiffany Pham, who is ranked 95th nationally, in the round of 16.
Davidson, who was named first team All-Big Sky Conference last spring as a freshman after leading the Grizzlies to a third-place league finish, rolled past Decquir in the final, 6-2, 6-1.
Decquir was a first-team All-Patriot League selection for Navy last spring after going 7-7 during the spring duals season at No. 1 singles and 10-5 at No. 1 doubles. The Mids went 13-4 last spring and advanced to the Patriot League tournament semifinals.
???It felt good to overcome some of the pressure that comes with playing in an individual tournament where you don???t have the support network around you that you would in a typical college match,??? Davidson said after the tournament.
???The matches required a lot of movement on my part and change of heights and spins on my shots to keep my opponents on the defensive.???
Davidson plans on playing one more tournament in preparation for her sophomore season at Montana.
The Grizzlies, who are led by third-year coach Steve Ascher, will open their fall schedule in late September at the Washington State Cougar Classic in Pullman, Wash.
