Sharpsburg’s Pluskota earns top-player status in Georgia

Fri, 07/20/2007 - 2:36pm
By: The Citizen

Natalie Pluskota started her summer by winning a national doubles title with partner Christy Core. Pluskota played singles in three tournaments during the month of June. She finished in fifth place at the state qualifier, which had a draw of 128, was the champion of the Southern Closed tournament in Little Rock, Ark., which was also a draw of 128, and finished in third place in the National Open, a draw of 64. Her match record in singles for June was 18-2.

By winning the crown jewel of southern tournaments she was placed on the national team to compete in California in a couple of weeks.

In the Southern Closed, Pluskota was seeded ninth. In the round of 64, she beat Kathleen Henry of North Carolina, 6-2, 6-3, while in the round of 32, she beat 17th seeded Erin Wilbert of Louisiana, 6-1, 6-3. In the round of 16, she beat third-seeded Kristi Boxx of Mississippi, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6. In the quarterfinals, Pluskota topped fifth-seeded Kayla Duncan of North Carolina, 7-5, 6-2 followed by a win over 17th-seeded Taylor Lindsey of Alabama, 6-1,7-5. In the finals, she beat Pepperdine signee and ninth-seededAnamika Bhargava of Tennessee, 7-5, 6-3,

Currently, she is ranked first in Georgia, fifth in the south and 99th in the nation. Her goal is to finish the month of July in the top 50 in the nation.

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