Courtesy Gustavus Adolphus Sports Information

ST. PETER, Minn. - In the final of the 2008 NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championship between Pomona-Pitzer's Siobhan Finicane and Cary Gibson of Williams, Finicane won battled past Gibson for a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 victory. Finicane ist the first women’s tennis player from Pomona-Pitzer since 1994 to win a singles title, while Gibson was the first women’s tennis player in Williams history to make an appearance in the singles final.

Finicane won three straight service games for a 5-2 lead in the first set. Gibson held serve to bring the score to 5-3, but was unable to break Finicane’s serve in the next game as Finicane won the set 6-3.

However, everyone in the crowd knew the match was far from over as Cary Gibson became known as the comeback kid on the tennis grounds with several come-from-behind three-set victories. Today was no different. After Finicane broke to go up 5-2 in the second set, Gibson dug deep to earn one of the service breaks back as she won the ensuing game on Finicane’s serve. Gibson was not about to give up without a fight, though, as she won the remaining four games with a series of blistering two-handed backhands to even the match at one set apiece at 7-5 in the second set.

Each player traded service breaks in the second set, before Finicane broke Gibson twice for a 4-1 lead thanks to hustling on the baseline and well-placed first serves. Gibson showed more grit in the next service game as she erased one service break to cut the margin to 4-2. Finicane was not about to let the set get away from her again as she raised her play to another level to win the next two service games for the set and the championship by the score of 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.