Lewis, unseeded in the No. 2 flight of women’s singles, defeated fourth-seeded Katherine Kelly of North Central Texas 6-2, 6-4 in the first round and then beat top-seeded Frederique Sunstrum of Lee 7-5, 6-4 in the semifinals at Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Yvonne Li Tennis Center in Belton.
In today’s 9 a.m. championship match Lewis will battle Lee’s Andrea Hernandez, the second seed.
“She’s had a good tournament so far,” Temple coach Dick King said of Lewis, a freshman from Fort Worth. “She’s been very consistent this year, but these are definitely her biggest wins. To pull off two upsets today is a great confidence-builder.”
Also today, TC’s Kristen Baker will play Laredo’s Kimberly Evans in the third-place match of No. 5 singles, and the No. 1 doubles team of Lewis and Ashlea Baker is in the semifinals.
Defending women’s tournament champion Tyler advanced four singles players into today’s finals, followed by Lee and Collin County with two each.
In the men’s competition at Temple’s Summit Fitness & Recreation Center, the Leopards didn’t get any players into today’s finals but will have four players involved in third-place singles matches against each other. Jake Williams and Michael Smathers play in the No. 4 flight, and Daniel Huggins and Nick Barajas duel at No. 5.
With only three players qualified for singles finals to five for Tyler, reigning national champion Laredo is in jeopardy of having its streak of five consecutive Southwest JUCO titles snapped.
