On a break from her studies at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Kylie Waschuk returned to her hometown to pick up a title at the Urecoat Doubles Christmas Classic. Waschuk teamed up with Cole Lacap to defeat Alexa Zayac/Sean Lacap 7-5, 2-6, 12-10 in the mixed Open doubles final. The tournament was held December 14-18 at Winnipeg Winter Club.

The mixed doubles final featured familiar pairings from past Canada Summer Games: Waschuk/Cole Lacap played mixed together at the 2013 Games in Sherbrooke, and Zayac/Sean Lacap were mixed teammates at the 2005 Games in Regina (the pair won the game seven tiebreak match against New Brunswick).

“It was good to see everyone from juniors and get back on the courts I used to play on,” said Waschuk, a business marketing student. 

Waschuk, a junior on the Grand Canyon University women’s tennis team, will start conference play with the Lopes in January. Her team competed in five tournaments in the fall, with Waschuk and partner Alexandra Petrzalkov winning the Black Doubles bracket title at the Aztec Invitational (September 30-October 2) at San Diego State University.

Last season, Waschuk went 5-0 in conference doubles play with Petrzalkov. The pair was the only GCU doubles team on either the men’s or women’s squads to go undefeated in conference play.

“We have good chemistry,” Waschuk said of her success with Petrzalkov. “We’re both tall, like to hit hard, so it works.”

The GCU women’s team has an international roster: it includes a player from New Mexico, one from Germany, two from France, one from Italy, one from Arizona, one from Belgium, Waschuk from Winnipeg and Petrzalkov from Slovakia.

“You get to see a lot of different personalities so it’s pretty fun,” said Waschuk, the 2013 Manitoba Open women’s singles champion.

Waschuk, a graduate of Vincent Massey Collegiate, started playing tennis at age five and competed in her first tournament at nine years old. She had a mentor and practice partner in older sister Evann, who played on the women’s tennis team at Bellarmine University in Louisville and is now studying law at Arizona State University.

Waschuk remembers learning the game at Taylor Tennis Club.

“My dad would come out too and that was when he could beat us,” Waschuk said with a laugh.

 

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