WDSA Turner Cup Update: Qualifiers Grainger And Leonard Surge Into The Semis   
By Rob Dinerman



Dateline January 23rd --- Trailing their higher-seeded opponents Amy Gross and Fernanda Rocha 11-4 in the fifth game of their qualifying match this morning, Natalie Grainger and Greenwich Academy senior Kaylee Leonard reeled off an 11-2 match-closing run which they then punctuated this evening with a rousing 15-11 in the fifth quarterfinal victory over second seeds Meredeth Quick and Steph Hewitt to get this year’s $20,000 Turner Cup off to a memorable start. In the wake of their pair of consecutive dramatic wins today, the first via an eleventh-hour rally and the second by holding off the comeback bid of Quick and Hewitt, who won this tourney three years ago and took the third and fourth games this evening after going down two games to love, first-time partners Grainger and Leonard will now face another first-time pairing in the Saturday-afternoon bottom-half semi, namely Tarsh McElhinny and Carrie Hastings, who won 3-0 over the veteran Philadelphians Amy Milanek and Dawn Gray.

   In the top half of this tournament, which is being hosted this year by the Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY, top-seeded defending champions Narelle Kirzek and Suzie Pierrepont won in straight games over WSA singles standouts Jenny Duncalf and Rachel Grinham (qualifying victors in four against Karen Jerome and Sarah West). Their semifinal opponent will be Amanda Sobhy and Victoria Simmonds, who vanquished Latasha Khan and Dana Betts, three games to love. The final is set for Sunday afternoon at 1 PM.