Michigan Tech Students Claim Regional Doubles Championship

Sandra Cvetanovic (left) and Kwang Suthijindawong, doubles champions.
Sandra Cvetanovic (left) and Kwang Suthijindawong, doubles champions.

Kwang Suthijindawong and Sandra Cvetanovic claimed the USTA/ITA Midwest Region Doubles Championship this weekend with an 8-6 victory over Wayne State’s Yahsha Moore and Anne Li Briand in the final. Suthijindawong also made the final in singles, but finished as the ITA Midwest Region Runner-Up.

As regional champions, Suthijindawong and Cvetanovic will advance to the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships Oct. 9-12 in Sumter, South Carolina.

The doubles pair is the first from Michigan Tech to win the regional. Laura Matzka and Aijana Otunchieva were region runners-up in 2002.

The last individual from Tech to win a regional title was Laura Nurminen, who claimed the singles crown in 1998.

After receiving a first-round bye, Suthijindawong and Cvetanovic won four matches over the three-day span to win their title. The No. 2-seeded pairing dispatched a team from Walsh 8-3 in the second round before ousting the No. 5 seed from Grand Valley 8-5 in the quarterfinal. The Huskies downed the No. 6 seed from Northwood 8-5 in the semifinal before upsetting the top-seeded pair from Wayne State in today’s final. Suthijindawong and Cvetanovic grabbed a 7-3 lead in the final match and held off a late charge. The Warrior pair won three straight games to pull within 7-6 before Cvetanovic served out the match.

“I’m very proud of Kwang and Sandra,” said coach Kevin Kalinec. “They played very well all weekend and were able to maintain their composure under pressure in the final.

“This is an exciting accomplishment for our program”

Earlier in the day, Suthijindawong won her singles semifinal match vs. WSU’s Moore 6-3, 7-5 to become the first Husky in the regional final since Otunchieva in 2002.

The top Huskies’ player could not keep her undefeated record intact in the final. She was defeated 6-3, 6-2 by Indianapolis’ Stephanie Hirsch.

Suthijindawong is now 12-1 on the season in singles and 11-0 in doubles.

Michigan Tech will return to GLIAC play this weekend with matches at Wayne State and Hillsdale on Saturday (Oct. 4) and Sunday (Oct. 5), respectively.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.