If she needed some inspiration before her semifinal match in the women’s singles division of the Davenport City Tennis Championships, Ginny Wortham got all she needed from her mother’s performance in the Richmond Women’s Golf Association final earlier Friday.
Lindsay Wortham, who is the holder of three city women’s tennis titles, captured the RWGA championship with a stunning 1-up victory over Lyberty Anderson on Hermitage Country Club’s Sabot Course. It was her third RWGA crown.
Friday night, Ginny Wortham outlasted Laura Ramthun in enough baseline rallies to post a 6-2, 6-1 decision on one of Hermitage’s indoor courts. Matches were moved indoors for the third straight day because of thunderstorms.
Play began at Byrd Park under sunny skies but storms moved in after about an hour and sent players scurrying for cover.
“My Mom is awesome,” said Ginny Wortham. “My Mom competes better than anyone I know. She’s so mentally tough.”
Ginny Wortham showed some of that toughness herself by forcing Ramthun into errors after long exchanges or hitting outright winners following other long rallies. Ramthun is a rising junior at Virginia Tech, where she walked on to the women’s team.
Wortham will be playing in her sixth straight final when she faces Nina Sorkin Saturday morning at 11 at Byrd Park. Sorkin was given a walkover into the final when her opponent, Anna Fuhr, sprained an ankle earlier this week.
Wortham will be seeking her fourth city championship but will be tested by Sorkin, who went undefeated in high-school competition this spring as a freshman at Deep Run and is coming off the 5A state singles title earlier this week.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, all but one of the eight seeded players managed to reach the quarterfinals, scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday. The semifinals are set for 11 a.m. but could be a little later depending on what happens in the quarters.
The lone seed to fall was Christopher Radke, one of a quartet of players at No. 5. He lost to Travis Miller 7-5, 6-2.
Both third-seeded Cesar Grobel and No. 4 Jeremy New were forced to three sets before winning.
Grobel, a teaching pro at Salisbury Country Club, rallied to beat Zach Carl 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, while New, runner-up in this tournament in 2011, came from behind to defeat Justin Cerny 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a hard-hitting affair.
“He [Cerny] was playing really well,” said New. “It really wasn’t that big a shift. Close games in the first set and a lot of close games after that, too. Things just started going my way a little more. He’s got some game.”
Top-seeded Michal Ciszek, the 2010 champion, shook off some rust in handling Harris Blair 6-3, 6-1. The match was tied 3-all before Ciszek, head pro at Willow Oaks Country Club, began to dominate the proceedings.
“He was using my pace very well,” said Ciszek. “He’s very quick, very fast. So I adjusted my game to what he was doing and it worked out much better. My serve was working. It never seems to disappear. My forehand is still pretty good.”
Others seeded winners on Friday evening were Ryan Radke, Chris Wallace and Brett Moorhead. All were co-seeded fifth. Second-seeded Eric Shulman had gained a berth in the quarterfinals with a victory over Chase Bernstine on Thursday.
In the Saturday quarterfinals, it will be Ciszek vs. Wallace and Grobel vs. Miller in the top half, and Moorhead vs. New and R. Radke vs. Shulman in the bottom half. The latter match is a rematch of the last two finals, won by Shulman.
In addition to Hermitage, matches were played indoors at Salisbury Country Club and the Country Club of Virginia.
Friday Results
Mens Singles
#1 Michal Ciszek def. Harris Blair 6-3,6-1
#5 Chris Wallace def. Baxter Carter 6-1, 6-0
#3 Cesar Grobel def. Zach Carl 5-7, 6-1,6-1
Travis Miller def. #5 Chris Radke 7-5, 6-2
#5 Brett Moorhead def. Seth Feibelman 6-1,6-1
#4 Jeremy New def. Justin Cerny 4-6, 6-2,6-1
#5 Ryan Radke def. Grant Sarver 6-2,6-4
Women’s Singles
Ginny Wortham def. Laura Ramthun 6-2, 6-1
Mens Doubles
#3 Grobel/Steinour def. Carl/Harrell 7-5,6-3
#5 McMillen/Parker def. DePew/Mendoza 6-3, 6-4
#5 Radke/Radke def. Carli/Williams 6-4,6-2
#2 New/Shulman def. Blair/Carter 7-5,6-4
Mixed Doubles
Thomas/Wyeth def. Kinder/Summers Default
Shulman/Sorkin def. Ramthun/Ramthun 6-3,6-2