University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOL NETTER CASTELLVI CAPTURES SINGLES TITLE
August 05, 2002 | Women's Tennis
Aug. 5, 2002
HARRISONBURG, Va.
All-American Vilmarie Castellvi of the University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis team claimed her first singles title on the USTA Professional Circuit yesterday, Aug. 4, at the Rockingham Heritage Bank/USTA $10,000 Women's Professional Tennis Tournament hosted by James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. Castellvi dominated Uzbekistan native Varvara Lepchenko in the finals for the win.
Castellvi, a native of Puerto Rico, was forced to play two matches on Sunday after a torrential rainstorm postponed semifinals action the day before. She defeated Maryland junior Emily Marker 6-4, 6-1 to advance to the finals.
After a one and a half-hour break, Castellvi took the court for her finals match with Lepchenko. The two players had several long rallies in the first couple of games, but Castellvi began to take control after the third game in the first set when Lepchenko began complaining of nausea. With Lepchenko not feeling well, Castellvi proceeded to dominate the first set 6-2, and then blanked her opponent in the second set 6-0.
"I was hitting well. I am very quick on the court and can get to a lot of shots," Castellvi remarked after winning the title.
After the match, Castellvi was awarded a trophy, a beanie baby and prize money. She would have received $1,600, but was unable to accept the money because of NCAA regulations. However, she did earn Sanex WTA Tour points to go toward her professional ranking.
Castellvi will return for her senior year this fall with the Lady Vols as the team's No. 1 singles player and will be ranked among the top five in the country. Last season, she compiled a remarkable 44-8 mark in singles and finished the year ranked fourth, the highest ranking ever achieved by a UT player. In addition to her All-SEC and All-American honors last season, Castellvi was tabbed the Lady Vol Athlete of the Year for 2002.
