Vivienne Kulicke traveled a long way to get to the courts at Manker Patten Tennis Club overlooking the Tennessee River.
Originally from Germany, Kulicke is a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She took a plane and a shuttle to make it to Chattanooga for her first appearance in the Tennessee Valley Open Championship.
And it was a trip well worth the half-day's travel, because Kulicke played - and won - three different finals Sunday: women's open singles, women's open doubles and mixed open doubles.
Aside from her titles, Kulicke was exceptionally impressed with the accommodations the tournament makes for participating players.
"I just love the organization," Kulicke said. "They provide housing for players, which is really helpful in that you can lower your expenses. They accommodate the place in many ways so you basically don't have any expenses while you are here."
Kulicke began her competition-filled day by beating Calhoun High School student McCartney Kessler 6-1, 6-1 to win the women's open title.
"Even though clay isn't my favorite surface, I feel like I still had good agility and speed," Kulicke said. "I was always in the position to hit the ball hard, and that was eventually good because I didn't give (Kessler) any time, and that's what made the difference, I was always there."
Kulicke was confident in her strokes during the victory as well and hoped that would carry over to the doubles court. Despite a busy weekend, Kulicke still felt strong with two more finals to play.
"I feel really confident. I feel like I am playing really well," Kulicke said after her singles win. "I am playing 100 percent. It makes me really happy to be able to play in the finals and to have the chance to give it all again. I still have the energy left."
She partnered with Kamilla Galieva to beat Kessler and Somer Henry 6-3, 6-4 in the women's open final, then teamed with Mario Urquidi for a 6-3, 6-3 win against Lucas Plesky and Ansley Speaks in the mixed open championship match.
Contact Tori McElhaney at sports@timesfreepress.com.