Christian, Pulido show promise at weekend Invitational


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In the inaugural Jack Kramer Invitational played this past weekend in Palos Verdes, Calif., two Women of Troy gained valuable experience that could pay off as the season progresses.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Christian, who enjoyed much of her success playing doubles thus far, advanced to the semifinals, while junior Valeria Pulido played in her first collegiate match of the year after playing for Mexico in the Pan American Games.

Christian, who came into the tournament ranked No. 60 in the country in singles, was the No. 3 seed in the draw.  She defeated Ekaterina Iakovieva of Mississippi State in straight sets in her first match, then took down Carling Seguso of UCLA in the quarterfinals in straight sets as well.  Pulido fell in the round of 16 at the hands of Khunpak Issara of Pepperdine.

In the semifinals, Christian squared off against another Bruin, this time the No. 2 seed and No. 45 Pamela Montez.  The match was a thriller, with Christian winning the first set 6-3 before dropping the second set 4-6.  In a decisive 10-point tiebreaker, Montez prevailed by a score of 10-4.

Christian and Pulido will have little time to recover, as the Women of Troy play next weekend, starting Nov. 3 ,at the ITA National Indoor Championships at Flushing Meadows, NY.