THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 23, 1994 TAG: 9407230377
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Eighth-seeded Holly Parkinson made it look relatively easy Friday, while sixth-seeded Julie Ditty did things the hard way.
But both accomplished the same goal - reaching the final of the USTA Girls 16s Clay Court National Championships.
Parkinson, from Cherry Hill, N.J., knocked off 10th-seeded Kristy Dascoli of Bradenton, Fla., 6-3, 6-3, in one semifinal Friday. Meanwhile, Ditty seemed on the verge of an even easier victory over seventh-seeded Ivy Wang, but had to scramble to pull out a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 triumph.
The singles final will be played today at 9 a.m. at the Virginia Beach Tennis & Country Club.
Ditty, from Ashland, Kent., led 6-1, 5-3, but went into a tailspin and soon found the match leveled at a set apiece.
``I kind of lost it there,'' Ditty said. ``I started making a lot of mistakes, but she started playing great, too.''
Wang, who eliminated top-seeded Jody Anglin in the quarterfinals, seemed to have the momentum heading into the final set, but was betrayed by her serve and was broken in all four of her service games. Ditty held just once - to take a 5-3 lead - but that was enough.
Today's final shapes up as an intriguing matchup of all-court players. Both Ditty and Parkinson use the entire court to set up points, and neither is afraid to come to the net. Ditty's arsenal also includes a wickedly angled topspin forehand, a shot which had Wang scampering out of bounds to retrieve, leaving Ditty the entire court to play with.
Wang and Dascoli will play for third place today at 9 a.m.
Rain has played havoc with the doubles schedule. The top-seeded team of Tammy Encina of Miami Beach and Christa Grey of Seminole, Fla., nipped No. 8 Parkinson and Jenny Miller of Savannah, Ga., 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, to advance to the semifinals. Houston natives Jennifer Embry and Christie Schweer, the second seeds, also made it through to the semis. The two other quarterfinal matches will be completed today. by CNB