THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407240228
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Eighth-seeded Holly Parkinson sandwiched two brilliant chunks of tennis around a nearly five-hour rain delay and a cruise through a local mall Saturday and breezed to the USTA Girls 16s Clay Court National Championships singles title at the Virginia Beach Tennis & Country Club.
Parkinson, from Cherry Hill, N.J., blitzed sixth-seeded Julie Ditty of Ashland, Kent., 6-1, 6-2, to win her second national title in as many years. Parkinson won the 14s hard court title in 1993.
``It seems like I played a little better each match,'' Parkinson said. ``I know I haven't played this well all week.''
Parkinson struggled through a three-set victory over 16th-seeded Janet Walker in the quarterfinals, but regrouped nicely in a straight-sets semifinal win over No. 10 Kristy Dascoli, then turned her game up another notch Saturday.
Using an aggressive, take-charge style marked by some sizzling forehands, Parkinson stayed in complete control against Ditty, who was unable to duplicate the form she displayed in her three-set semifinal win over seventh-seeded Ivy Wang.
Ditty was the nation's top-ranked 14s player last year, while Parkinson was No. 4. But with Parkinson at peak efficiency and Ditty slightly off her game, Saturday's first-ever meeting between the two looked like something Parkinson would wrap up in record time.
But heavy rains interrupted Parkinson's victory match with the New Jersey native ahead, 6-1, 2-1. The rain pelted the court for the next two hours, flooding the clay and suspending play indefinitely.
Having already checked out of her hotel, Parkinson, spent the afternoon hanging out at nearby Lynnhaven Mall.
``I didn't know where else to go,'' she said.
Parkinson then returned to the tennis center and began hearing talk of moving the match to an indoor hard court.
``I started to get worried then,'' said Parkinson, who had honed her clay-court instincts during a USTA-sponsored trip to a series of tournaments in Europe. ``I've been working out on clay for months.''
Fortunately for Parkinson, the courts absorbed enough of the water to allow play to resume. And while such a long delay in a match often favors the player who is behind, Ditty got no boost from Saturday's break as Parkinson quickly seized the first two games when play resumed.
``I just tried not to let (the delay) bother me,'' she said. ``I went out and pretended as though the match had just started.'' by CNB