World No. 1 Halep Commits to New Haven

French Open champ will be making her first
appearance in Connecticut since 2014.

By Bob Phillips

NEW HAVEN—Just when you thought things couldn’t get any better… well, they did. Simona Halep, the No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player, will be playing in the Connecticut Open next month. The reigning French Open champ joins the impressive field as a wild card.

This will be the fourth appearance in New Haven for the 26-year-old Romanian—and her first since 2014. The previous year, she defeated four-time CT Open champ Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals, and went on to defeat then-defending champ Petra Kvitová in the final.

“I am excited to return to Connecticut this summer, and am grateful for the opportunity,” said Halep. “I have some happy memories from my title in 2013, and always enjoy playing in front of the fans there. The tournament’s strong field and similar conditions to New York make it a great way to prepare for the U.S. Open, so I’m looking forward to being back.”

Halep, who earned her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in May, is having an exceptional year, having reached at least the quarterfinal round in 10 of the 12 events she has entered this year. She has reached the finals in four of them—second in that department behind Kvitová. Indeed, she is 35-9 as World No.1, and since entering the Top 10 in January 2014, Halep holds the longest active streak in the Top 10. 

“Five years ago, Simona won our tournament as an unseeded rising star on the WTA Tour,” said tournament director Anne Worcester. “Simona returns this year as the No.1 player in the world and the current French Open champion, which just goes to show that the Connecticut Open showcases
not only young, up-and-coming players, but also the best in women’s tennis.”

Indeed, Halep currently ranks first in the Porsche Race to Singapore rankings. Other top-ranking Porsche players committed to New Haven include No. 4 Kvitova, No. 7 Daria Kasatkina, and No. 11 Julia Goerges.

The Connecticut Open’s 30-player singles draw currently features 22 players – 20 direct acceptance and two wild cards (American Danielle Collins is the other wild card recipient) – with the direct entry ranking cut-off at No. 35. Two wildcards remain to be filled, with six players advancing from the 48-player qualifying draw completing the field. The top two seeds at the tournament will receive a first-round bye.

—With Kristine Phillips and Staff Reports

Seattle Storms Back, Crushes Connecticut

By Bob Phillips

Chiney Ogumike led the Sun with 21 points and
grabbed 12 boards, but didn't have much help as
the league-leading Seattle Storm rallied late for a
come-from-behind victory on Friday night. (Photo
by Bob Phillips)

UNCASVILLE—Jewel Loyd scored 31 points—20 in the second half—to lead the Seattle Storm to a 78-65 victory before 7,908 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night. It was the fourth time in her career that Loyd has scored 30 or more points in a game. Despite not scoring until 3:32 remained until halftime—a three-pointer—MVP candidate Breanna Stewart ended the contest 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out three assists for the first-place Storm, who improved to 18-6.

Chiney Ogwumike was the only Sun player to score in double digits. The former Stanford star and No. 1 overall draft pick had a double-double scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 boards.

The Sun led early, with a 15-10 advantage at the first turn, and taking a 33-29 lead into the locker room at halftime. But behind a super-charged Loyd, a first-time All Star this season, the Storm came storming back and totally dominated the second half. Seattle, AKA “UConn West” (besides Stewie and Bird, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis also contributes off the Storm bench), outscored Connecticut 23-15 in the third period and rounded the final pole with a 52-48 advantage. Seattle’s dominance continued in Q4, with the league leaders pulling away in the final period of regulation.

“Great win for us,” said Bird, the WNBA’s all-time assist leader named All-WNBA First Team five times and Second Team three times. She also has four Olympic Gold Medals on her Hall of Fame resume. Bird, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft, will be participating in next week’s will be participating in her 11th All Star Game on July 28 at the Target Center in Minneapolis as a member of Team Delle Donne, where she will join the Ogwumike sisters, Nneke and Chiney. This will be the first year of the new format where captains Elena Delle Donne and “Anytime you come into a another team’s house and you are able to pull out a win it feels good, especially because we did not have a great start to tonight’s game. We were down most of the game, but finally it turned around for us and we were able to pull it out.”

“We like to play with a fast tempo, and so do they,” said Ogwumike, the former All American from Stanford, drafted No. 1 overall in the 2014 WNBA draft. “In the first half, it worked to our benefit. In the second half, it sort of worked to their benefit. I think in those situations, we have to make sure we maintain the pace. When we maintain the pace, we feel more in control of what we do. In the second half, they got easy baskets that sort of opened the flood gates for them, especially in the fourth quarter.”

With the win, the Storm have won all three games played between the two teams this season—the fourth season sweep over the Sun in franchise history, and lead the league with an 18-6 record, 3.5 games ahead of both Atlanta and Phoenix in the WNBA’s overall standings. The Sun, meanwhile, fall to 12-12, and occupy the No. 8 overall spot in the standings. Only the top eight teams qualify for the postseason in the WNBA. Connecticut is currently two games behind Minnesota/Los Angeles/Dallas/Washington, all with 14-10 records but ranked 4-5-6-7 respectively with tiebreakers factored into the equation. The Sun also lead No. 9 Las Vegas by just one game.

Next up for Connecticut is a trip to Dallas where the Sun will challenge the 14-10 Wings this afternoon. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on WCCT and streamed on WNBA League Pass. Fans in Texas can watch the game live on Fox Sports West-Dallas+.

The Storm head to Atlanta where they will face the 14-9 Dream. Tip-off is at 3 p.m., and the game will be televised live on NBA-TV.

—with staff reports

Hayes Leads Dream Over Sun

By Bob Phillips
Photos by Bill Harper

Atlanta's Brittney Sykes shown busting a move against the Sun on Tuesday.
Sykes had 11 points in an 86-83 victory for the Dream.

UNCASVILLE—After losing three of their first four games in the month of July, the Connecticut Sun had reversed course and won two straight coming into last night’s game with the Atlanta Dream. But that’s not what happened. Former UConn star Tiffany Hayes banged in a three-pointer at the buzzer to lead the Atlanta Storm to an 86-83 win before 5,555 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday night.

The Sun led by as much as 11 early in the contest, and still were in the driver’s seat, leading by a seven-point margin, after Jones banged one in from downtown Norwich to the home team to a 79-72 advantage with just over five minutes left in regulation.

But anyone thinking that the Dream were going to go away at that point were as wrong as the people who voted for Donald J. Trump thinking he was a patriot. Atlanta came back to knot the score at 81 apiece when Angel McCoughtry, who finished with a game-high 24 points, knocked down a trey with 1:42 remaining in regulation. Then, after the Dream took the lead, the Sun tied the score when Alyssa Thomas, who finished with a double-double (12 points, 10 boards), knocked down two from the charity stripe.

Former UConn and Sun favorite Renee Montgomery, now a member of
the Dream, shown driving on Rachel Banham Tuesday night.

With 11.4 seconds left in regulation, McCoughtry missed a jumper that the Sun recovered, but then Hayes stepped up, stealing a pass from Jasmine Thomas and throwing up her game-winner as time expired.

Jonquel Jones led five Sun players in double-figures with 19 points, and she also had seven rebounds. Rachel Banham added 15 points with three made threes. Rachel Banham added 15, while Alyssa Thomas chipped in with 12, Jasmine Thomas 11 and Chiney Ogwumike put in 10 for the Sun, who fell to 12-11 and are in the eighth spot in the WNBA overall standings. Only the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the postseason.

McCoughtry’s 24 led the Dream, who improved to 13-xx, while Hayes (18), Elizabeth Williams (16), and Brittney Sykes (11) also scored in double digits for Atlanta, which improved to 13-9, and are in a virtual three-way tie with Dallas and Washington for the No. 4 spot..

Things don’t get any easier for the Sun as Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and the league-leading Seattle Storm visit the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., and it will be Hometown Heroes Night.

No Biggie

Chiney Ogwumike, shown here driving past Angel
McCoughtry, has been selected to play in the
WNBA All-Star Game on July 28. The game will
be televised live on ABC starting at 3:30 p.m.

Buzzer-beaters are becoming the norm for this team this season. In addition to last night’s game, Shevonte Zellous of the New York Liberty banked in a trey at the buzzer at the Mohegan Sun Arena last week, Shekinna Stricklen banged in one from beyond the arc as time expired to lead the Sun over the same Liberty in White Plains, NY, last month—a four-point play at that—and a three pointer at the buzzer by Rachel Banham lifted the Sun to a preseason victory over the Los Angeles Sparks at the Mohegan Sun in May.

Oguwumike All-Star

Forward Chiney Ogwumike will represent the Connecticut Sun on Saturday, July 28th when the 15th WNBA All-Star Game is played at Target Center in Minneapolis. It is the second All-Star selection of her career. A former All-American from Stanford and overall No. 1 pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft, Ogwumike has scored in double figures 18 times, with a career-best 30 points at Seattle on June 15. She has five double-doubles. She has led the team in scoring seven times this season. After missing all of 2017 with an Achilles injury, Ogwumike leads the Sun in scoring (15 ppg) and total rebounds (157) and is second in the WNBA in field goal shooting percentage (.603).

As you might expect… and as is the rule… UConn will get plenty of representation in the WNBA All-Star Game. Former Huskies appearing in the contest are Sue Bird of the Seattle Supersonics (her 11th All-Star appearance), and Minnesota’s Maya Moore (who will serve as one captain; Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics will be the other) have already been named. The remainder of the WNBA All-Star Teams, which will be competing as Team Della Donne and Team (Candace) Parker—the two captains—will be announced tomorrow. The game will be televised live at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

—with Staff Reports

Sun Scorch Lynx, 83-64

UConn legend Maya Moore busts a move toward the hoop Sunday night, but
the Connecticut Sun came away with an 93-64 victory over the Lynx.

MINNEAPOLIS—After a one-game homestand—a 91-87 win over Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night—it was back on the road for the Connecticut Sun on Sunday night. But the road warriors were more than up to the task as they stopped the Minnesota Lynx 83-64 before 9.234 fans at the Target Center.

The Sun, who led the contest at every turn, dominated inside and outside. On the inside, the Sun out-rebounded the home team by a 41-27 margin, and turned 13 offensive boards into 17 second-chance points. From the outside, Connecticut poured in 12 three-pointers compared to just four for the Lynx.

Former UConn star Morgan Tuck led six players in double figures with 15 points, tying her career-​high with four made threes. Minnesota native Rachel Banham celebrated her 25th birthday with 11 points, including three made threes.

Jonquel Jones (12 points) and Shekinna Stricklen (10 points) each had two made threes while Jasmine Thomas (11 points, four assists, four rebounds) added one three. Courtney Williams also reached double figures, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Connecticut outscored the Lynx by a combined 43-28 in the second and third quarters, when it took firm control of the game.

A pair of three-pointers by Tuck sparked a 14-3 run to start the fourth quarter, and Banham gave Connecticut its biggest lead with a jumper that made it 82-51 with 5:26 left.

The rest was a mere formality.

The Sun outscored the Lynx 14-0 in fast-break points, and are now 2-0 against the defending champs in 2018.

With the win, the Sun, who have won two straight, improve to 12-10, while the Lynx, who have dropped two straight, fall to 12-10. The teams are in a virtual tie for the 7th and 8th spots—with eight teams qualifying for the postseason.

The Sun return home to host the Atlanta Dream tonight. Tip-off at the Mohegan Sun Arena is at 7 p.m.

—Staff Reports

World No. 6 Caroline Garcia Joins Star-Studded Connecticut Open Field

World No. 6 Caroline Garcia of France is the latest world-class player to
commit to this year's Connecticut Open.

NEW HAVEN—World No.6 Caroline Garcia joins two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová, 2018 Wimbledon semifinalist Julia Goerges and a host of outstanding WTA talent in a world-class player field at the 2018 Connecticut Open, a U.S. Open Series event that will take place August 17-25, tournament director Anne Worcester announced. Garcia, a 2015 Connecticut Open quarterfinalist, won back-to-back titles in Wuhan and Beijing to qualify for the 2017 BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore. She is set to make her fifth appearance in New Haven alongside world No.14 and Wimbledon quarterfinalist Daria Kasatkina, who is enjoying a breakthrough year after reaching her first WTA Premier Mandatory final at Indian Wells, and lies ninth in the Porsche Race to Singapore.

“New Haven is such a fantastic place to prepare for the U.S. Open,” said French No.1 Garcia. “I have played there many times in the past and always enjoy the tournament atmosphere, the support of the fans and the great competition that the strong draw provides. I have played well there in the past, so I hope to be able to build on that this year.”

Goerges reached the semifinal at Wimbledon where she fell to Serena Williams. It was the first time the German reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal, having also broken into the Top 10 for the first time earlier this year. Also featured in the entry list are last year’s runner-up and crowd favorite Dominika Cibulkova, dangerous Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens, and Camila Giorgi, who will be forced to play qualifying in New Haven such is the strength of the draw.

Of the 20 players confirmed in the field, four have combined to win eight WTA singles titles in 2018, illustrating the collective international talent that will be on display at the WTA Premier event, which also contains three former Connecticut Open champions in Kvitová, defending champion Daria Gavrilova and 2016 winner Agnieszka Radwanska. Other notable names on the entry list include Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu, Johanna Konta and Ashleigh Barty. Buzarnescu began 2017 ranked outside the Top 500 and has rocketed up the rankings to No.28 after reaching finals in Hobart and Prague. Talented Australian Barty, our 2017 doubles runner-up with Casey Dellacqua, picked up her first grass-court title in Nottingham last month, beating British No.1 Konta in the final.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová returns to New Haven
where she will seek her fourth Connecticut Open title.

“We are thrilled with the strength in depth of our 2018 field,” said Worcester. “We have star players in Caroline Garcia, Petra Kvitová, and Wimbledon semifinalist Julia Goerges; local favorites in our defending champion Daria Gavrilova and last year’s runner-up Domi Cibulkova, as well as breakthrough players on the WTA this year such as American Danielle Collins as well as Wimbledon quarterfinalists Daria Kasatkina and Kiki Bertens. Bottom line is that our event will feature a highly competitive field that will treat our fans to some exciting tennis from start to finish and we still have three wild cards to add a couple more big names to the mix.”

One might wonder if Serena Williams, who made a valiant charge to the Wimbledon women’s finals this past week, might be best served by playing a tune-up event prior to the U.S. Open.

Flying the American flag this year will be Danielle Collins, who has been awarded a main draw wild card after rising from 162 to 41 in the WTA rankings this year. A two-time NCAA champion, Collins enjoyed a superb run to the semifinals of the Miami Open, defeating Venus Williams en-route for her first Top 10 victory.

Two future stars to watch in this year’s draw include Eastbourne finalist Aryna Sabalenka (20), Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit (22), a semi-finalist in Stuttgart and Rome. While experience – and loyalty to the event - comes in the form of our 2014 runner-up Magdalena Rybarikova, making her seventh appearance in New Haven, 2016 quarterfinalist Ekaterina Makarova, also returning for the seventh time, 32-year-old Czech Barbora Strycova (fifth appearance) and Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro (fifth visit).

Kvitová, a three-time champion in New Haven, will try to join the pantheon. Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki have four Connecticut titles apiece.

The main draw currently features 21 players—20 direct acceptance and one wild card—with the direct entry cut-off at 35. In addition to adding two more Top 20 players with wild cards, six players will advance through the 48-player qualifying draw to complete the field. The top two seeds at the tournament will receive a bye

The Connecticut Open will also welcome top doubles seeds at Wimbledon, Timea Babos and her partner Kristina Mladenovic. Babos became the first Hungarian to rise to the World No.1 ranking in either singles or doubles on Monday, her historic rise helped by 18 career doubles titles, including this year’s Australian Open (w/Mladenovic). The pair currently top the doubles leaderboard in the Porsche Race to Singapore. 

Tickets for the 2018 Connecticut Open are available at CTOpen.org/Tickets or by calling the box office at 1-855-464-8366. Individual session tickets start at $25 for adults and $15 for children 14 and younger. Multi-session packages are available online or through the box office and offer up to 24% savings including: 

• AFTER HOURS (all evening sessions and Saturday’s final)

• PICK 4 (four sessions of your choice from Sunday through Thursday)

• FINAL 4 (the last four sessions including Thursday night’s quarterfinal and men’s legends, Friday’s semifinals and men’s legends and Saturday’s finals). 

Week-long box seats, which offer more than 45 percent savings versus individual session prices, may be purchased through the box office only. Tickets for Beer Fest at the Connecticut Open on Saturday, August 25 are available at bit.ly/BeerFestatCTO. 

Volunteer applications are now open. There are a variety of roles available, including ball persons, in-stadium ushers, player transport, general volunteers and more. Volunteers will receive a free uniform, tickets, meal vouchers, photo credential and parking. Additionally, volunteer time can be used toward community service hours. Ball persons are also needed and tryouts will be held Aug. 4 and 5 from 9-11:30 a.m. at the Yale University tennis courts. Please visit www.ctopen.org/volunteer, or email volunteers@ctopen.org. Eligible ball persons should email ballpersons@ctopen.org.

 

About Connecticut Open

The Connecticut Open is a WTA tournament held at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale featuring a 30-player singles main draw, a 48-player qualifying draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $799,000. The 2017 title was won by Australia’s Daria Gavrilova, who collected her maiden WTA trophy as the tournament celebrated 20 years of women’s tennis in New Haven. Past champions include Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport (2 titles), Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams (4), Justine Henin, Caroline Wozniacki (4) and Petra Kvitová (3). As a not-for-profit 501c3 charitable organization, the Connecticut Open’s mission is to leverage the excitement of world-class women’s tennis to benefit the local community and maximize support for women’s, youth and other causes. The tournament also generates $10+ million in regional economic impact. The Connecticut Open is prominently featured domestically through 50+ hours on ESPN2 and ESPN3 and is also broadcast internationally by WTA Media in 158 countries. In 2017, the global audience reached nearly 12 million viewers. For more details and tickets, visit www.ctopen.org or call 1-855-464-8366

—Staff Reports