The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT wasn’t the finish that Kerrie Cartwright and her American partner Kariann Pierre-Louis anticipated in the final of the women’s doubles at the International Tennis Federation’s $15,000 Tacarigua Women’s Tournament that was held in Trinidad & Tobago last week.

Cartwright and Pierre-Louis, the number two seeds, lost 6-4, 6-3 to the top ranked team of Emily Appleton of Great Britain and Portillo Ramirez of Mexico.

In the semi-final, Cartwright and Pierre-Louis won 6-2, 6-0 over the No.4 ranked team of Yolanda Leacock from Trinidad & Tobago and Alexandra Riley of the United States. They advanced to the final by eliminating the No.3 seeded team of Andrea Renee Villarreal of Mexico and Kristen-Andrea Weedon of Guatemala. Their scores were 4-6, 6-3, (10-8). “It was pretty tough. It was a good match overall,” Cartwright told The Tribune. “We had our chances in the first set to get the lead, but we lost it.”

It was the second appearance in the final for Cartwright and Pierre-Louis for the year, but this time they didn’t match the success they achieved when they were crowned the champions.

“I think we played really well. We’re a great team and so far we had some success,” she pointed out. “We went to three doubles finals since last year and so we hope we can keep performing and hopefully we will get the title whenever we play in the final again.”

During the tournament in Trinidad & Tobago, both Cartwright and Pierre-Louis lost in the second round in singles. Cartwright, the No.8 seed, got ousted by Csilla Fodor of Vietnam in a marathon three-setter 7-6 (4), 1-6, 7-5, while Pierre-Louis, the No.7 seed, went down 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to fellow American Gail Brodsky. Pierre-Louis, the No.7 seed, went down 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Cartwright said she will return for a couple days rest before she heads to Florida to play in back-to-back tournaments in Asprey and Maples.

Hopefully she and Pierre-Louis will team up again to play in doubles.

“I just hope to do my best as we learn from this experience and grow from it,” Cartwright projected. “Hopefully the next match I play, I can perform and play better.”

During the trip to Trinidad, Cartwright said she got a surprise when a reporter from the Trinidad Express interviewed her and featured her in an article.

“It was a shock to me when I saw it. The girl who did it knew me from the time I was travelling as a junior player,” Cartwright said. “When he saw me, he said he was happy to write about me. It was really crazy to see myself being featured in a newspaper in another country. I was so blessed that it happened.”

Cartwright said she felt that had they won, she probably would have been highlighted again.