Irish senior captains Shannon Mathews and Kristy Frilling traveled to California earlier this week to compete in the 2011 All-American Championship in Pacific Palisades, Calif., which begin today.
Mathews played in the qualifying rounds of the tournament earlier this week. Tuesday she advanced to the round of 32, defeating Georgia's NadjaGilchrist in three rounds. Mathews fell to South Carolina's Diana Stojic on Wednesday, disqualifying her from singles play. For the second day in a row, the match went to three sets. Stojic took the first 7-6, but Mathews rallied and won the second set 6-3.
After a battle that lasted over three hours and included the second tiebreaker of the match, Stojic finally clinched the set 7-6, ending Mathew's run for the main draw. She will be back in action once more in doubles play with Frilling today.
"It's a tough loss, but I am happy with the way I competed and struck the ball," Mathews said. "I had my chances in the first set as well as the final set, but I needed better execution of my attacking game."
Frilling will begin playing Thursday in the main draw, where she will face Sona Novakova of Baylor.
"It will be a good match so I'm really looking forward to it," Frilling said.
This will be the first time Frilling takes the court this season and she said she is ready to see where her game is at beginning the new season.
"I'm also really excited to play my first tournament of the fall and hopefully start the season on a positive note," she said.
Mathews and Frilling will begin in the fourth spot of the round of 32. They will face a competitor from one of the earlier rounds of competition.
