Griffin wins No. 4 singles championship

Griffin wins No. 4 singles championship
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

TUCSON, AZ – Sophomore Anna Claire Griffin (Iuka) finished her career as a Lady Indian on a high note by winning the No. 4 singles consolation championship at NJCAA Women's DI National Tennis Tournament in Tucson, Arizona.

Griffin defeated Morgan Task of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College 8-4 to advance before carrying her late-match momentum into the early stages of the championship match against Nikki Steiner of Lewis and Clark CC.

"I felt like if Anna-Claire could carry that same momentum she closed her morning match with that she would have a good shot at bringing home the championship," said Coach Paul Johnson.

And the 39-year coaching veteran was right.

Griffin dominated the match early by overpowering her opponent with her serve and adjusting to an over-the-top approach when Steiner tried to shorten the game to breeze to an 8-2 victory.

"You could just see it in her eyes when she took the court that she was dialed in and ready to play," said Johnson. "She did a great job establishing her serve early to dictate the match and made some really good in-match adjustments to seal the victory."

The road to the championship wasn't an easy one for Griffin as she upset No. 7 seed Claudia Maka of Morain Valley CC in the opening round of the consolation bracket and before knocking off Marina Schmditz of tradition NJCAA tennis power Harford CC.

"It was a perfect way to close out a very good career at ICC for Anna-Claire," said Johnson.

Hudson falls in semifinal tiebreaker

Sophomore Aliesha Hudson (Yazoo) dropped a hard-fought match in a tiebreaker to Lesly Espinoza of Laredo Community College (TX) in the No. 5 singles consolation semifinal round.

The two battled back-and-fourth until Espinoza caught a break in the tiebreaker to pick up a 9-8 (3) victory.

For more information on ICC tennis, follow the Lady Indians on Twitter (@LetsGoICC)