Brancato plays way into national tournament in October

Ocotober 01, 2008
Bob Jackson
Sports Writer

To win the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tournament championship match against Jenny Mennerick of the McKendree Bearcats, Kathleen Brancato did something she has been criticized for not doing enough: charge the net.

The move was the kind of gamble appropriate to cap the women’s singles field that UIS head coach Manny Velasco called “a lot tougher than it used to be.”  Brancato also played in the doubles finals with her partner, Thiyumi Abeysinghe, while fellow teammates Rosanna Ramilo and Ashley McGowan rebounded from elimination in day one to play in the finals in the consolation round for day two.  Ramilo won the match, earning fifth place in the ITA tournament.

Brancato cruised to the final round, losing one game on the way to Jennifer Ramsey of Olivet Nazarene.

Brancato continued her strong play, building a 3-2 lead in the first set of the championship.  Mennerick, however, took the next four sets, breaking Brancato’s serve three times in the process.  The Bearcat player showed her endurance in the first set, too, by winning all three games that went to deuce.

“I was making a lot of mistakes,” Brancato said.  “But I have to give her credit—she’s a good player.”

In the second set, Brancato rebounded by sweeping Mennerick in six straight games, including back-to-back 50-15 match scores in the fourth and fifth game to set up a convincing game six win.

“I tried to cut back on the errors,” Brancato said.  “That was the main thing.  That helped me out a lot.”

For the third set, Brancato found herself down 15-40.  After Mennerick moved Brancato to the far corner of the court with a cross-court forehand shot, Mennerick then tried to lightly return Brancato’s forehand shot on the opposite side of the court with a drop shot to take the first game.

Brancato broke for the ball from the farthest corner, reaching out and angling her racket between the ball and the court to push the ball back over the net and win the point.

On the next very serve, again facing game point, Brancato ripped a forehand shot just inside the sideline to force deuce.  Reminiscent of the first set, Brancato found herself at a disadvantage in the deuce, but she eventually battled back, scoring three straight times to collect the first game and her first deuce victory of the championship.

“I like comebacks,” Brancato said of the first game in the third set.  “I think I play my best when I’m down.”

Brancato would then proceed to break Mennerick’s serve the next game, winning 50-Love.  Brancato eventually won the championship 6-3, winning four of the last seven games.

Ten minutes after her singles championship, Brancato played in the doubles finals with Abeysinghe against Mennerick and Erin Thoman.

The UIS pair managed to take the first game but after that they proceeded to lose the next four.  Eventually Mennerick and Thoman secured the championship, winning by a convincing margin of 8-2.

“You win one big match and it’s hard to put it together twice in a row,” Velasco said.  “The girl Kathleen beat in the finals also had the revenge factor working for her.  [Mennerick] played very well in that doubles match.”
For Mennerick and Thoman, the doubles match was fruition from a resolve to win the ITA doubles championship from the outset.

One of the greatest strengths of the McKendree pair was their experience together Head Coach Christy Josias said.

“They’ve been playing together since high school,” Josias said.  “They know each other’s game real well.”

The UIS women’s tennis team will play again this Sunday in back-to-back matches against Quincy University and St. Francis starting at 8:00 a.m.