
Photo by: A.J. Olnes
Sarah Wilcox Captures Flight A Singles Crown As Women's Tennis Concludes Play At Drake Invitational
9/16/2018 3:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Wilcox claimed the top singles bracket with a straight-sets victory
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Freshman Sarah Wilcox claimed the Flight A Singles Championship as the Creighton women's tennis team wrapped up action at the Drake Invitational on Sunday morning.
Wilcox downed Drake's Carmen Palumbo in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-4 to claim the Flight A Singles crown. The Prairie Village, Kansas native, finished the weekend 4-0 and dropped only one set.
Sophomore Erin Epperson placed runner-up in the Flight B Singles bracket. Epperson fell 6-1, 6-3 to South Dakota's Habiba Aly.
Freshman Meredith Benson opened her collegiate career with a third place finish in the Flight C Singles bracket. Benson earned a 6-1, 6-0 win over UNI's Olivia Fain on Sunday morning to close the weekend with three victories.
Ashley Ishimura took third place in Flight A singles after going 1-1 on Saturday and winning by default in the third-place match.
Wilcox and Ishimura also claimed the Flight A Doubles championship by default after advancing to the winner's bracket final with an 8-1 semifinal win on Saturday, but the duo's Augustana opponent did not participate in Sunday's final.
Freshman Gabby O'Connor opened her Flight B Consolation bracket final with a 7-5 win in the first set before an injury forced her to retire in the second set while trailing 2-0. O'Connor went 2-2 in singles play during her first action in a Creighton uniform.
In the Flight B Doubles Consolation draw final, Julia Aguirre and Kendra Lavallee fell 8-4 against a pair from Nebraska-Omaha.
"We had a good start to the season," head coach Tom Lilly said. "The fall is a great time to get to know your teammates and coaches to get ot know their team's strengths and weaknesses. We have a talented group and have the potential to have a great season, but will need to put a lot of work in this fall to get to where we want to be in the spring."
Creighton returns to the courts Sept. 28-30 for the 2018 Bluejay Invitational.
Results
Singles Flight A
Sarah Wilcox def. Carmen Palumbo (Drake), 6-3, 6-4 (Championship Match)
Ashley Ishimura def. Kornelia Staniszewska (Augustana) by default
Singles Flight B
Habiba Aly (South Dakota) def. Erin Epperson, 6-1, 6-3 (Championship Match)
Kate Merrick (UNI) def. Gabby O'Connor, 5-7, 2-0 (ret.)
Singles Flight C
Meredith Benson def. Olivia Fain (UNI), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles Flight A
Ishimura/Wilcox def. Staniszewska/Vieyra (Augustana) by default (Championship Match)
Doubles Flight B
Tucker/Linscott (UNO) def. Aguirre/Lavallee, 8-4
Wilcox downed Drake's Carmen Palumbo in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-4 to claim the Flight A Singles crown. The Prairie Village, Kansas native, finished the weekend 4-0 and dropped only one set.
Sophomore Erin Epperson placed runner-up in the Flight B Singles bracket. Epperson fell 6-1, 6-3 to South Dakota's Habiba Aly.
Freshman Meredith Benson opened her collegiate career with a third place finish in the Flight C Singles bracket. Benson earned a 6-1, 6-0 win over UNI's Olivia Fain on Sunday morning to close the weekend with three victories.
Ashley Ishimura took third place in Flight A singles after going 1-1 on Saturday and winning by default in the third-place match.
Wilcox and Ishimura also claimed the Flight A Doubles championship by default after advancing to the winner's bracket final with an 8-1 semifinal win on Saturday, but the duo's Augustana opponent did not participate in Sunday's final.
Freshman Gabby O'Connor opened her Flight B Consolation bracket final with a 7-5 win in the first set before an injury forced her to retire in the second set while trailing 2-0. O'Connor went 2-2 in singles play during her first action in a Creighton uniform.
In the Flight B Doubles Consolation draw final, Julia Aguirre and Kendra Lavallee fell 8-4 against a pair from Nebraska-Omaha.
"We had a good start to the season," head coach Tom Lilly said. "The fall is a great time to get to know your teammates and coaches to get ot know their team's strengths and weaknesses. We have a talented group and have the potential to have a great season, but will need to put a lot of work in this fall to get to where we want to be in the spring."
Creighton returns to the courts Sept. 28-30 for the 2018 Bluejay Invitational.
Results
Singles Flight A
Sarah Wilcox def. Carmen Palumbo (Drake), 6-3, 6-4 (Championship Match)
Ashley Ishimura def. Kornelia Staniszewska (Augustana) by default
Singles Flight B
Habiba Aly (South Dakota) def. Erin Epperson, 6-1, 6-3 (Championship Match)
Kate Merrick (UNI) def. Gabby O'Connor, 5-7, 2-0 (ret.)
Singles Flight C
Meredith Benson def. Olivia Fain (UNI), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles Flight A
Ishimura/Wilcox def. Staniszewska/Vieyra (Augustana) by default (Championship Match)
Doubles Flight B
Tucker/Linscott (UNO) def. Aguirre/Lavallee, 8-4
Players Mentioned
Creighton Men's Tennis Final Point and Celebration vs. Xavier, 4/19/25
Saturday, April 19
Creighton Men's Tennis Postgame vs. North Dakota, 3/30/25
Sunday, March 30
Creighton Women's Tennis Postgame vs. North Dakota, 3/29/25
Sunday, March 30
Crieghton Men's Tennis Postmatch vs. Butler, 2/16/25
Sunday, February 16











