MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Four College of Charleston women's tennis players advanced to the semifinals in their respective singles flights on the first day of play at the home-hosted College of Charleston Invitational held at the CofC Tennis Center at Patriots Point.

Senior Christin Newman (Greensboro, N.C.) defeated Laina Cummer of Davidson in a second-set tiebreaker, 6-3, 7-6 (5), to move on to tomorrow's semifinals in the A1 singles flight.

Meanwhile, sophomore Jenny Falcone (Davidson, N.C.) had a first-round bye in the B1 singles flight and won in straight sets over Eveline Lepinay of Stetson, 6-4, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.

Senior Olivia McMillan (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and sophomore Grace Baker (Charlotte, N.C.) also advanced to tomorrow's semifinals in the B2 singles flight. Baker handed Tamara Hill of Davidson two love sets, while McMillan got past Jessica Perez of UNC Charlotte, 7-5, 6-0.

"Overall, I was really impressed with our underclassmen, especially Jenny Falcone and Grace Baker," CofC Director of Tennis Angelo Anastopoulo said. "Grace is playing with a lot more confidence and her performance on the court this year is due to the incredible work she put in this summer."

In her CofC debut, freshman Brooke McAmis (Greensboro, N.C.) beat Natsuko Takayanagi of UNC Charlotte in the Round of 16 of the A1 singles flight, 6-2, 6-2, but later fell to Marlen Hacke of defending NCAA Division II national champion Armstrong Atlantic State, 7-6 (5), 6-3, in quarterfinal action.

"It was what I expected from us for our first fall tournament," Anastopoulo said. "We are learning quickly the areas that we need to improve on. We had two 10-minute rain delays today, but other than that, we had beautiful weather out at the courts and we hope Cougar fans will come out to watch some outstanding college tennis this weekend."

The tournament, which is in its 11th year, will continue tomorrow with two rounds of doubles beginning at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON INVITATIONAL

Sept. 14-16, 2012

CofC Tennis Center

at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

A1 SINGLES

Round of 16

Brooke McAmis (CofC) def. Natsuko Takayanagi (UNCC), 6-2, 6-2.

Samantha Maddox (CofC) def. Andrea Crespo (Stetson), 6-1, 6-3.

Christin Newman (CofC) def. Kourtney Kowal (Coastal Carolina), 6-3, 6-1.

Quarterfinals

Marlen Hacke (AASU) def. Brooke McAmis (CofC), 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Aleksandra Filipovski (AASU) def. Samantha Maddox (CofC), 6-1, 6-3.

Christin Newman (CofC) def. Laina Cummer (Davidson), 6-3, 7-6 (5).

A2 SINGLES

Round of 16

Diana Bukajeva (Stetson) def. Irene Viana (CofC), 6-4, 6-1.

Kelly Kambourelis (CofC) def. Elise Held (Davidson), 6-1, 6-1.

Quarterfinals

Clarke Tatje (Stetson) def. Kelly Kambourelis (CofC), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (6).

Consolation

Tyler Baker (UNCC) def. Irene Viana (CofC), 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (8).

B1 SINGLES

Quarterfinals

Jenny Falcone (CofC) def. Eveline Lepinay (Stetson), 6-4, 6-3.

B2 SINGLES

Quarterfinals

Olivia McMillan (CofC) def. Jessica Perez (UNCC), 7-5, 6-0.

Grace Baker (CofC) def. Tamara Hill (Davidson), 6-0, 6-0.