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Cohee carves out niche at Big Al�s tournament Drew Fleming photo By Greg Stiles ASHLAND � Colleen Cohee has spent much of her tennis career in the shadows. When Cohee played No. 1 singles for South Medford High, Southern Oregon Conference rivals Jessyca Arthur of Klamath Union and Tami Botts of Ashland won state championships in 1997 and 1998. After carving out a singles niche for herself as a freshman at the University of Nevada, Cohee found herself overshadowed by an influx of foreign players last year. "The story of my life," she says. When it comes to the Big Al�s tournament, however, Cohee shines brightly. The defending women�s open champion knocked off two challengers Saturday at Hunter Park to earn a spot in today�s 8 a.m. final against Ashland�s Kim Gumaer. Cohee swept past Amanda Wilson of Klamath Falls, 6-1, 6-0, in the quarterfinals and ousted Gonzaga University�s Taio Miller, 6-1, 6-1, in the semifinals. Gumaer topped No. 2 seed and Southern Oregon University tennis coach Gail Patton of Ashland, 6-4, 6-2, to gain entry into the final. In men�s open play, six-time defending champion Todd Stanley of Sacramento was forced to retire from his quarterfinal match as he approached match point. Stanley led Eugene�s Ryan Hatfield, 6-2, 6-5, when a leg injury sustained before the tournament forced him to quit. The men�s semifinals are at 8 a.m. today, followed by the 10 a.m. finals. Cohee was in command from start to finish in both of her Saturday matches, but still has some rough edges. "I�m still pulling my mental game together," Cohee says. Cohee was a relative late-comer on the tennis scene. While her chief high school rivals played regional or national USTA events at an early age, Cohee didn�t hit the road until her final two years of high school. "It�s real hard to play someone who has trained a lot more and has more competitive experience," Cohee says. "But when you get an upset, you gain more confidence." Cohee didn�t get the best of Arthur or Botts, who went on to play for William & Mary and Louisiana State. But she remembers some of her best performances came against them. Cohee was good enough to reach the state tournament with her sister Dana as a freshman and then advanced to state in singles her junior and senior years. Her goal when she signed with Nevada was to demonstrate she could go toe-to-toe against good NCAA Division I players. She progressed nicely in that direction in 1999, winning six of 21 singles matches. But as the Wolfpack geared to jump from the Big West into the Western Athletic Conference, Wolfpack coach Kurt Richter brought in players from Yugoslavia, Slovenia, Macedonia and Tunisia. "They�re going to be playing nationally-ranked teams regularly," she says. "But I still have my goals." As a result, Cohee began looking around for a place to pursue those goals. She hooked up with Montana State in Bozeman, Mont., and settled on the change a month ago. "I had a good first year and I felt good at Reno," Cohee says. "I was in the middle of the lineup. Even if I had a terrible match, I learned from it. "I have no regrets. But I know I can compete, it�s just a matter of getting the confidence. It�s more my level and I�ll have more opportunity." She also sees Montana State fulfilling her college expectations. "I don�t think Reno offers the whole college environment," she says. "I haven�t been to the casinos, but I�ll be 21 in a couple of weeks. So it will probably be best that I�m not going back.�� Big Al�s will probably be the last tournament Cohee plays before school begins Sept. 5. In two previous tournaments this summer, she won her opening match before bowing out of the Rogue Valley Open last month, then won her first two matches in the Umpqua Valley Open in Roseburg. The only other local singles player to earn a finals spot is Laura Vaughn of Eagle Point. The No. 4 seed in the women�s 4.0 bracket will meet No. 3 Elizabeth Schoenleber of Galt, Calif., in the finals. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA