iPhones NewsBy Tim MenicutchMarin Independent Journal
Posted: 08/13/2013 07:05:52 PM PDT
Click photo to enlarge
Alex Poorta has extinguished the flame of competing on the big stage in tennis. She says she has found her calling in coaching.
But the former St. Mary's College tennis star and women's tennis coach at Dominican University still has enough competitive fire burning to take on the best players in Northern California whenever she has the opportunity.
Poorta, who lives in Moraga, is the sixth seed in the singles action when the second annual $12,500 Macys.com Women's Tennis Open gets under way Wednesday at Marin Tennis Club in San Rafael.
The single-elimination, five-day tourney has doubled in size from the inaugural event with a 32-player
singles draw. The tourney has also added a doubles event for the first time.
"I had those dreams (of playing on the pro tour)," said Poorta, a native of Amsterdam, who was named the West Coast Conference player of the year at St. Mary's in 2011. "But now my passion is coaching. I love coaching, but I'm a very competitive human being. I need competition and I miss it when I don't have it."
Poorta has come to the right place for competition. The Macys.com Open has drawn a top-flight field.
"It's an unusually strong field of talented players with the mix of seniors, strong juniors and WTA Tour players," said Nicole Scholvinck, tournament associate. "It's going to make for compelling tennis this week."
The favorites for the singles title are former Cal star Jana Juricova, the defending tourney champion and 2011 NCAA singles champion, and former UCLA standout Yasmin Schnack, who competed in doubles at Wimbledon in 2012.
Although points all week are going to be hard to come by, Poorta is more than up for the challenge.
"It's a way stronger field than last year," said Poorta, who played in the 2011 NCAA singles championships. "It's as strong as a professional tournament, way stronger than any other open tournament. I love it. It's a great opportunity to play at that level."
Poorta, who earlier in the summer competed in European Club tournaments in Germany, France and Holland, comes into the Macys.com Open in sharp form. Last week, she captured the singles title and was a member of the winning doubles team at the Comerica Open in Aptos.
"It went really last week," she said. "I'm getting my confidence back from playing those matches and I'm starting to get my college form back."
Poorta's college form was excellent, especially in her senior season for the Gaels when she racked up an 8-0 mark against WCC opponents, playing all but one match at the No. 1 spot. She
upset top-ranked Juricova of Cal on the final day of the Cal Winter Invitational and was named the WCC Player of the Month for March after going 5-0 and not dropping a set the entire month.
As impressive as her college resume reads, Poorta is equally as proud of her rookie season as coach at Dominican, where her team reached the conference finals and upset Stanislaus State, the No. 20-ranked NCAA Division II team at the time.
"It was a difficult transition from playing to coaching in the beginning," Poorta said. "I always wanted to play, but now I see myself as a coach and I can step back and look at a player's strengths and weaknesses. There's always the challenge of how do we get that player better and how can we improve them."
Other top Marin County players competing at the Macys.com Open are Leora Grimshaw, a Bay Area professional trainer and coach out of Novato, Fanny Gamble, a standout for Harbor Point Tennis Club in San Rafael, and Emily Prescott, a Tam High graduate and incoming senior at Dominican.
Poorta offers no predictions for this week's action.
"You never know, many things can happen," she said. "You can lose in first round or you can go all the way. You just never know."
Contact Tim Menicutch via email at tmenicutch@marinij.com
Women's tennis
What: $12,500 Macys.com Open
Where: Marin Tennis Club in San RafaelWhen: Wednesday to SundaySingles/doubles finals: SundayAdmission: Free
Harga Laptop