Kara Molony-Hussey leaves the court with son Austin, 5, after winning Saturday's semifinal. (Tony Jones photos) | ZOOM |

        The last time Heather Hairston and Kara Molony-Hussey played against each other, the 1998 Thomas E. Price Metropolitan Tennis Tournament championship was on the line. At noon today, five-time champion Hairston and two-time champion Molony-Hussey renew their rivalry for the title at Lunken Playfield after both players posted victories Saturday in the semifinals.

        Molony-Hussey, who last won the Met in 1999, defeated UC senior Khushchehr Italia 6-0, 6-0; Hairston won 1-0 (injury default) over Esra Roan, an East Tennessee State graduate and native of Istanbul, Turkey.

        “I am disappointed, because I needed a challenge,” said Hairston, whose last title appearance was her 1998 Met loss to Molony-Hussey. “I felt good and wanted to hit a lot of balls.”

        Roan pulled a muscle in her left leg while trying to change directions.

Heather Hairston checks on Esra Roan after Roan hurt her left leg and had to default. | ZOOM |

        “The leg cramped immediately,” Roan said. “I can't believe it, because I've never suffered this type of injury playing tennis. I plan to be back next year.”

        Molony-Hussey's win was never in doubt.

        An obviously nervous Italia, who played with Molony-Hussey two years ago at UC, had trouble with her first serves, allowing Molony-Hussey to jump on second serves and take control of the match.

        If Hairston wins today, she will pull within one championship of all-time singles leader Kathy Graeter, who won seven from 1963-79.

        WOMEN'S DOUBLES: Molony-Hussey and sister Lyndsey Molony captured the women's doubles championship for the fourth time in the last six years, defeating Hairston and UC senior Jennifer Capuzzi 6-1, 6-1.

Jason Zimmerman, 19, plays top-seeded Rey Puentes in today's men's final. | ZOOM |

        MEN'S FINAL: Today's men's final at 1 p.m. pits experience against youth as top seed Rey Puentes faces Jason Zimmermann.

        Puentes defeated Isaac Yarrell 6-3, 6-1 Saturday. Zimmermann, a sophomore at Duke and the No.2 seed, downed Matt Pledger 6-3, 6-3.

        “My game plan was simple,” Puentes said. “I wanted to attack Isaac's backhand, but I had to take a chance by hitting to his forehand early.”

        The Pledger-Zimmermann match was a battle between two former high school state singles champions.

        Pledger won in 1993 playing for Middletown, and Zimmermann won in 2001 as a senior at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. Zimmermann was dominating Saturday, using a hard serve that came up high off the clay and a strong forehand to take control of the match early in the first set.

        Pledger, who suffered a strained quad muscle in his left leg early in the week, partially tore a hamstring in the same leg during the second game of the first set, hampering his movement.

        If Zimmermann wins the championship, he will join John D. Peckskamp as the youngest player ever to win a Met.

        Peckskamp won as a 19-year-old in 1971.

Met Tennis Results & Schedule

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