USTA Names Dow Corning Champ Laura Granville 'Circuit Player of the Week'
Beygelzimer-McCain Team Tops Russian Duo for Doubles Title in Easy Win
February 16, 2005
By: Dave Rogers
Chicago native Laura Granville, 23, shows good form in defeating 2001 champ Yoon Jeong Cho of Korea.
Doubles winners Yulia Beygelzhimer and Kelly McCain in action in the Dow Corning Classic finals at Midland last weekend.
The United States Tennis Association has named Laura Granville "Circuit Player of the Week" for her close win last Sunday in the 17th Dow Corning Tennis Classic Championships at Midland.
Ms. Granville, 23, a Chicago native and resident, notched her fourth USTA Pro Circuit singles title at Midland with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6) nail-biter over Ms. Cho. The match lasted two and a half hours.
Good crowds were on hand for action all week and several youth events included a high school play day and Dow Chemical Kids Day on Monday, according to Mike Woody, pro and manager of the Midland Community Tennis Center.
"This outstanding Dow Corning sponsored event is the best professional tennis tournament held in Michigan and we're proud to host it at Midland each year," said Mr. Woody.
A two-time NCAA singles champion (2000 & 2001, Ms. Granville is competing this week at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee. She lost in the first round to 3rd seed Meghann Shaughnessy while Ms. Cho advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Abigail Spears.
A junior tennis sensation, Ms. Granville established a college record for winning 58 straight matches while playing for Stanford University. She turned pro after her sophomore season.
Her victory in the $75,000 total prize money event at Midland wasn't easy and involved two come-from-behind wins against Carly Gullickson and Stephanie DuBois in the early rounds.
Ms. Granville reached the finals here two years ago, losing to Bianca Lamade, while Ms. Cho had bested Tara Snyder in the 2001 finals.
Ms. Granville's career ranking has spiked to 28th in the world in 2003 and fallen to the present 74th, her third straight year in the top 100. she reached the third round of Wimbledon and the French Open in 2003 and the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2003.
The doubles title was annexed by the first seeds, Ukrainian Yulia Beygelzimer and American Kelly McCain, defeating Anna Bastrikova of Russia and Iryna Kuryanovich of Belarus, in a relatively easy match, 6-2, 6-4.###