After two years of waiting patiently, Janet Myers finally hosted a women’s professional event in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hosted by the Charlotte YMCA and directed by Shane Hummel, the event surpassed expectations not only in excitement but with the second largest draw for the women since last years U.S. Open. For the first time in the young history of the new tour, two former junior world champions reached the semi-finals: Claudine Garcia of the Dominican Republic, and Kristen Walsh of Salt Lake City, Utah.

And the event was prime for upsets. Both of the top two seeds had undergone off-season surgeries and no one really knew what to expect after a three-month layoff. Surprises cropped up early, in the round of 32, with unseeded tour rookie Claudine Garcia ousting No.7 Doreen Fowler. Garcia has been participating on the international scene for many years and most U.S. Team players realized her potential, but this was her LPRA debut.

In the next round, Kristen Walsh nudged past No.3 seeded Rhonda Rajsich, who continues to struggle after her tremendous performance at the 2000 U.S. Open. Rhonda’s frustrations were magnified in game four, when she was ahead 14-11 and holding serve. Her inconsistency and poor shot selection resulted in the loss of four straight points — and eventually the game and match.

The draw’s semifinal matchups featured two veterans in the top bracket and two rookies in the bottom. Cheryl Gudinas and Kersten Hallander had previously battled in Chicago to record the longest match in LPRA history (2 hours 25 minutes), and everyone expected their rematch to be similar. Although each game was close, with the lead going back and forth, Cheryl’s consistency proved too much for Kersten.

The other semi was a run-and-shoot battle, with both ladies consistently making unbelievable dives and gets, including a set of five full-out diving returns in one rally by Kristen. Although it seemed that Claudine was nervous to start, she rapidly found herself and forced Kristen to a fifth game. Narrowly missing her chance, Claudine skipped two forehand shots for the match and Kristen eventually squeaked out the win 17-15.

The final went as most predicted, with Cheryl controlling the match with her patented Z-drive serve and precise passes. Although the match was over in three straight, it was evident that Kristen’s game has drastically improved and she will be a force to reckon with on this years tour. If the years first event is any indication of what is to follow on the LPRA tour, this year should see larger draws, more upsets and a new aggressive style of play.

Champion Cheryl Gudinas and runner-up Kristen Walsh