Champaign, Ill. – Bunyawi Thamchaiwat's NCAA Singles Championships run ended in the second round on Tuesday afternoon, where she fell to No. 7 Eryn Cayetano of USC 6-2, 7-5 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Illinois.
"Bunyawi played a very solid match against a tough opponent," Head Coach Peter Mattera said. "She represented Aztec Athletics at an extremely high level on the biggest stage college tennis has to offer. I am proud of the season she and the team have had, and I am excited to have her back next year."
In the first set Thamchaiwat fell in the first game before rallying and taking the second game to tie it at 1-1, utilizing her serving ability to keep Cayetano on her toes. Cayetano then won three games in a row to take a 4-1 lead, before Thamchaiwat won the next to make it a 4-2 advantage in favor of Cayetano midway through the set. Cayetano then rallied to win the next two games to clinch the first set 6-2.
In the second set, Cayetano jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Thamchaiwat earned her first point of the set in the third game to make it a 2-1 contest. Thamchaiwat then won her second game in a row to tie the second set at two games apiece. The duo would remain deadlocked at the midway point of the set, knotted up at 3-3, and the two would continue trading points when Thamchaiwat made it 4-4 in the set after the eighth game. Thamchaiwat then took her first lead of the match when she went up 5-4 in the second set, before Cayetano rallied back to win the set 7-5 and clinched the match 6-2, 7-5.
The Note: Thamchaiwat became the first Aztec to advance to the second round in the NCAA Singles Championships since 1986, when both Cynthia MacGregor and Monique Javer won their opening round matches.