Rising American Carly Gullickson claimed her first win on the WTA Tour with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory over fellow American Lindsay Lee-Waters.

Gullickson, the 16-year-old from Nashville, has been coming to the Racquet Club of Memphis and playing on the courts for the last 10 years.

"I feel like this is my home," said Gullickson. "It's good to get my first win at this level. I played qualifying here last year and lost 75 in the third set, so it's good to win my first match. I've worked really hard, so it feels good."

Gullickson, whose father Bill was a former Major League Baseball All-Star for the Houston Astros, now goes on to play either No. 7 seed Emilie Loit of France or qualifier Diana Ospina. "This is my first tournament, so I'm really just taking it one match at a time," added Gullickson.

Also through to the second round is Tara Snyder, who defeated American teenager Tanner Cochran 6-3, 6-1. Snyder, the 25-year-old from Wichita, Kansas now meets defending champion Lisa Raymond.

Solid

"Tanner's a good player and I knew before I went out there that I was going to have to play a couple of hours of solid tennis," said Snyder. "I've played her in the past and lost to her, so emotionally that comes into the match, but I was really happy to get through."
Snyder, who lost in qualifying last year in Memphis, says she loves playing here. "It's such a good atmosphere down there, even on the Stadium court," said Snyder. "The crowd are really close to you, so it's fun to play here."

Snyder, the 1995 US Open Junior champion who went to No. 33 in the world in 1998, has struggled with a number of ankle injuries in recent years. "There's been a lot of rehab and hard work, but now I'm really enjoying playing again and trying to get back to playing my best tennis," said Snyder. "Over the last six months I've been getting my confidence back and making lots of progress. It's been almost like another career for me."