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ITA Regional ChampionshipsSweeps were the story of the day at several ITA Women’s Regional Championships across the country. Baylor, Pepperdine, and Kentucky each won singles and doubles titles at their respective regionals plus Michigan is going to sweep the Midwest Regional after winning the doubles title today and having an All-Wolverine singles final tomorrow.
Stanford and Cal will both have players participating in tomorrow’s singles and doubles final in the Southwest Regional while Syracuse has a chance to sweep the Northeast.
Northwest (Stanford) –
Singles/Doubles Draws – Streaming $ via
FloTennis – Stanford’s Emma Higuchi and Cal’s Karla Popovic will meet in the singles final after each won semifinal singles matches on Monday while Popovic will also be competing in the doubles final. Stanford swept both the singles and doubles titles a year ago with Cal’s Oliva Hauger the only one of last year’s participants back in the finals this year.
Singles Semifinals
[9] Emma Higuchi (Stanford) def. [7] Caroline Lampl (Stanford) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
[5] Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Sybille Gauvain (San Jose State) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
Singles Championship (Tuesday 11 a.m. PT)
[5] Karla Popovic (Cal) vs. [7] Caroline Lampl (Stanford)
Doubles Semifinals
[7] Olivia Hauger/Karla Popovic (Cal) def. [1] Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) 6-1, 5-7, 10-8
Caroline Lampl/Kimberly Yee (Stanford) def. Tamara Culibrk/Miyo Kobayashi (San Jose State) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles Championship (Tuesday 12:30 p.m. PT)
[7] Olivia Hauger/Karla Popovic (Cal) vs. Caroline Lampl/Kimberly Yee (Stanford)
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Southwest (San Diego/San Diego State) –
Singles/Doubles Draws – Pepperdine swept the singles and doubles titles for the second year in a row with Ashley Lahey winning the singles title and Mayer Ahmed and Christine Maddox winning the doubles title. Pepperdine will have five players in New York City for the National Indoor Intercollegiates with Luisa Stefani and Jean Runglerdkriangkrai clinching their spot after finishing as runner-up a few weeks ago at the Riviera All-Americans.
Singles Championship
[6] Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine) def. [12] Zoe Katz (USC) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles Championship
[2] Mayar Ahmed/Christine Maddox (Pepperdine) vs. [3] Camille De Leon/Alexis Valenzuela (Cal State Fullerton) 6-2, 6-1
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Texas (Baylor) – Singles/Doubles Draws – Baylor’s Blair Shankle pulled off the Texas double after she and her partner Elizabeth Profit won the doubles title then an hour later she only dropped one game in route to winning the singles final. Below are some comments from Baylor’s recap:
“I’m just really happy that Liz and I performed well and finished off the tournament great,” Shankle said. “She really stepped up. We really played well and executed as a team. In singles, I played well today. That was a tough opponent, but I just executed a little better than she did today. I’m just happy with my overall performance this week. I really started off with a rough match my first round, and then I just tried to climb my way back into the draw. Overall, I’m just happy with the week. I’m happy to go to the National Indoors, and I’m really excited for the opportunity to compete there and just keep extending my fall season a little longer.”
“Congratulations to Blair on a great week,” head coach Joey Scrivano said. “It’s not easy winning tournaments at any level and she has won three this fall. I’ve always been proud of the way she competes and conducts herself, but this fall she has been more committed to the process. I’m also proud of the way she and Liz worked together through the doubles bracket. They showed resilience throughout the tournament and played well together.”
Singles Championship
[2]
Blair Shankle (Baylor) def. [9] Neda Koprcina (Texas) 6-1, 6-0
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Midwest (Michigan State) – Singles/Doubles – Michigan dominated the Midwest Regional with Kate Fahey and Alex Najarian winning big in the doubles final and then each won a pair of matches to move on to tomorrow’s singles final which will be moved from East Lansing to Ann Arbor.
Quarterfinals
[5-8] Anna Sanford (Ohio State) def. [1] Brienne Minor (Michigan) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
[13-16] Alex Najarian (Michigan) def. [5-8] Monica Robinson (Notre Dame) 6-3, 6-4
[3] Kate Fahey (Michigan) def. [5-8] Yuliya Shupenia (DePaul) 6-0, 6-2
[9-12] Chiara Lommer (Michigan) def. [2] Maddie Lipp (Northwestern) 3-6, 7-5, 6-0
Semifinals
[13-16] Alex Najarian (Michigan) def. [5-8] Anna Sanford (Ohio State) 6-4, 6-7, 6-1
[3] Kate Fahey (Michigan) vs. [9-12] Chiara Lommer (Michigan) 7-6, 2-1 ret.
Championship (Tuesday in Ann Arbor 9 a.m. ET)
[3] Kate Fahey (Michigan) vs. [13-16] Alex Najarian (Michigan)
Doubles Championship
[5-8] Kate Fahey/Alex Najarian (Michigan) def. [5-8] Monica Robinson/Brooke Broda (Notre Dame) 8-1
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Northeast (Yale) – Singles/Doubles – Syracuse senior Valeria Salazar will have a chance to sweep the singles and doubles titles on Tuesday. Salazar booked her spot in the singles final after defeating the top seed Boston College’s Asiya Dair in the quarterfinals and then a few hours later she knocked off the fourth seed Penn’s Kana Daniel in the semifinals. Salazar’s opponent in the singles final will be St. John’s freshman Jessica Livianu after the Brooklyn native defeated Boston College’s Lexi Borr and Dartmouth’s Taylor Ng.
Quarterfinals
[5-8] Valeria Salazar (Syracuse) def. [1] Asiya Dair (Boston College)
[4] Kana Daniel (Penn) def. [5-8] Dayna Lord (Brown) 7-6(2), 6-4
[3] Jessica Livianu (St. John’s) def. [5-8] Lexi Borr (Boston College)
[5-8]
Taylor Ng (Dartmouth) def. [2] Gabrielle Knutson (Syracuse) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
Semifinals
[5-8] Valeria Salazar (Syracuse) def. [4] Kana Daniel (Penn) 6-3, 6-4
[3] Jessica Livianu (St. John’s) def. [5-8] Taylor Ng (Dartmouth) 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
Championship (Tuesday)
[3] Jessica Livianu (St. John’s) vs. [5-8] Valeria Salazar (Syracuse)
Doubles Semifinals
[1] Gabrielle Knutson/Valeria Salazar (Syracuse) vs. [5-8] Taylor Ng/Raquel Lyn (Dartmouth) 6-2, 7-6(0)
[5-8] Kana Daniel/Ashley Zhu (Penn) vs. [5-8] Star Makarome/Alexandra Solovyev (Columbia) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Championship (Tuesday)
[1] Gabrielle Knutson/Valeria Salazar (Syracuse) vs. [5-8] Kana Daniel/Ashley Zhu (Penn)
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Ohio Valley (Middle Tennessee State) –
Singles/Doubles Draws – Kentucky swept the singles and doubles titles at the Ohio Valley Regional with senior Aidila Sutjiadi knocking off the top seed Vanderbilt’s Sydney Campbell to win the singles title while freshman Lesedi Jacobs and sophomore Justina Mikulskyte claimed the doubles title with a win over Vanderbilt’s Astra Sharma and Emma Kurtz. Below are some comments from
Kentucky’s recap:
“I am extremely happy for our team today,” said Kentucky head coach Carlos Dradá. “A performance like today’s is a reminder that we are capable of great things when we stick to fundamentals, listen and stay in the present. Our players all exhibited a high level of commitment to our principles, and were able to take steps in the right direction. If one of our players can do it, anyone on our team can do it. The way our ladies competed today was a choice. It was 100 percent constant effort.”
Championship
[2]
Aidila Sutjiadi (Kentucky) def. [1] Sydney Campbell (Vanderbilt) 6-2, 7-6(6)
Doubles Championship
Lesedi Jacobs/Justina Mikulskyte (Kentucky) def. [2] Astra Sharma/Emma Kurtz (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 6-4
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Carolina (North Carolina) –
Singles/Doubles – North Carolina freshman Sara Daavettila won an All-Tar Heel singles final with a three-set win over sophomore Jessie Aney. After Aney claimed the first set, Daavettila opened up a 5-1 lead in the second before Aney charged back to force a tiebreak. Daavettila jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak and ended up taking it 7-4 to force a third set. Daavettila broke early in the third set and then broke again later to close it out.
Championship
[1] Sara Daavettila (North Carolina) def. [3] Jessie Aney (North Carolina) 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-2
Duke sophomore Ellyse Hamlin and junior Samantha Harris won the doubles title after rallying to defeat South Carolina’s Caroline Dailey and Mia Horvit in a back and forth third set supertiebreak. Dailey and Horvit won five of the first six points to go ahead 5-1 but Hamlin and Harris won seven of the next nine to take an 8-7 lead. Dailey and Horvit evened it at 8-8 but Hamlin and Harris took the last two to win 10-8.
Doubles Championship
[5] Ellyse Hamlin/Samantha Harris (Duke) def. [6] Caroline Dailey/Mia Horvit (South Carolina) 6-3, 5-7, 10-8
“It feels really good,” Harris said. “Coming into this tournament, we hadn’t actually ever played together before, and we hadn’t practiced much together, but with each match, we kept getting better and better, and belief came with each match. We started to play some really good doubles, and we really believed in ourselves that we could win it.”
“We have the confidence in each other, which really helps,” Hamlin added. “I believe that she is going to make every shot, and that confidence in each other helps us do well.”
“The biggest thing was overcoming adversity for them,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “[Harris and Hamlin] went through a stretch during the second set where we didn’t play great. The way the format is, South Carolina could capitalize on that, especially carrying momentum into a 10-point tiebreaker. I think that we were able to overcome that adversity, and when it got close in the breaker, we played some of our best tennis.”
“In those situations, it’s important to go for it,” Harris said. “You have to trust yourself and keep swinging. Everyone on the court was tight at that moment, and I think we really just wanted to go for it.”
“I was nervous on that last serve and return, but you don’t want to have any regrets when you finish a match,” Hamlin said
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Southeast (Florida) –
Singles/
Doubles – The wildest regional of the day had to be this one with Georgia freshman Eleni Christofi and Florida junior Josie Kuhlman spending over five hours and thirty minutes on court in the singles and doubles finals. Kuhlman opened up a 4-0 lead in the first set of the singles final but Christofi won the next four to even it at 4-4. After a pair of holds, Christofi broke to go ahead 6-5 but Kuhlman broke back to force a tiebreak. Christofi went up a mini-break at *3-2 and *5-4 but Kuhlman won the next point each time to tie it up. Christofi’s last mini-break would come on set point when she followed up an overhead with a volley winner to take the tiebreak 7-5 and claim the opening set in one hour and seven minutes.
The second set wasn’t near as crazy with Kuhlman needing just 37 minutes to take it 6-2. The third set started off with three straight holds but then Christofi broke Kuhlman on the no-ad point to take a 3-1 lead. Kuhlman would break back, from 30/40, and then hold to even it at 3-3. After four straight holds, Christofi would double fault the break to Kuhlman but the Florida junior would be unable to serve it out as Christofi broke from 15/40 to send it to a deciding tiebreak. Kuhlman went up a mini-break at 3-2 but Christofi won both points on Kuhlman’s serve and the next one on her own serve to take a 5-3 lead. Kuhlman put it back on serve at 5-4 but Christofi took the next two to close it out 7-4.
“Great tournament, great week for Eleni,” said Georgia Head Coach Jeff Wallace. “She has really competed well and made great improvements in her game. It is a great win because it gives her another really big opportunity to get to New York. So really excited for her and what she’s done. We are just going to continue to see more development and improvement in her game. What a great week.”
Singles Championship
[9-16] Eleni Christofi (Georgia) def. [9-16] Josie Kuhlman (Florida) 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-6(4)
The doubles final was just as crazy as the singles final with two close sets followed by a 10-point supertiebreak to decide it. Georgia’s Eleni Christofi and Kennedy Shaffer jumped out to a double break 5-2 lead in the first set but Florida’s Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock broke Christofi at love, got a Kuhlman hold, broke Shaffer, and then got a love hold by Woolcock to go ahead 6-5. Christofi held on the no-ad point to force a tiebreak and then the Bulldogs duo rolled 7-2 to take the opening set.
The second set stayed on serve until Georgia broke Woolcock to go ahead 5-3 but Florida broke Shaffer at love to make it 5-4. Kuhlman fought off a match point on the no-ad point when a Woolcock backhand volley caught the line and then the Gators broke Christofi to make it 6-5. Woolcock held to give Florida a 7-5 second set which meant the match would be decided by a third set supertiebreak.
Shaffer and Christofi won the first point of the supertiebreak but they wouldn’t have the lead again as Kuhlman and Woolcock opened up an 8-4 lead. Shaffer and Christofi battled back and took four of the next five points to pull within 8-9* but Florida finished it off when Woolcock poached one at the net to close it out (video below)
Doubles Championship
[1] Josie Kuhlman/Belinda Woolcock (Florida) def. [5] Kennedy Shaffer/Eleni Christofi (Georgia] 6-7(2), 7-5, 10-8
“It was a terrific day of tennis. I thought it was a top-5 match-up in the singles final. One point here or there and the outcome could have gone either way, as could the doubles.”
On the doubles match: “I was really pleased that we found a way to move more in the tiebreak than we had in the whole match and that’s why we won. We had a lot of courage. We were willing to hit the ball and move. We were real brave I was proud of that. We talk about that all the time, that you have to find a way to play with courage and I was real pleased to see that we did that.”
On Josie Kuhlman’s fitness helping her play a three-hour singles match followed by a two-hour doubles match: “It’s the Florida way, it’s what we do. When Josie trains, it’s full-speed all the time. I have a lot of confidence that she’ll be strong until the last ball. She’s going to give it everything she’s got. It’s our goal this year as a team, to be a little tougher. To be able to handle the pain of competing for three hours, followed by another two and half hour doubles match.”
“Doubles was awesome,” Wallace added. “We had some chances. We were up 5-3 and had match point. But it was great tennis, high level. We just barely got beat 10-8 in that tiebreaker but props to those guys, they had a great tournament.”
Women’s National Indoor Intercollegiate Qualifiers
Singles (32-draw)
Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) – All-American Champion
Ena Shibahara (UCLA) – AA Runner-Up & Oracle ITA Masters Champion
Hayley Carter (North Carolina) – AA Semis
Astra Sharma (Vanderbilt) – AA Semis
Sinead Lohan (Miami FL) – AA Consolation Champion
Camille Gbaguidi (SCAD) – Oracle Cup Champion
Claudia Herrero (Nevada) – ITA Mountain Champion
Lily Miyazaki (Oklahoma) – ITA Central Champion
Marie Faure (William & Mary) – ITA Atlantic Champion
Alizee Michaud (Auburn) – ITA Southern Champion
Eleni Christofi (Georgia) – ITA Southeast Champion
Sara Daavettila (North Carolina) – ITA Carolina Champion
Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine) – ITA Southwest Champion
Blair Shankle (Baylor) – ITA Texas Champion
Aidila Sutjiadi (Kentucky) – ITA Ohio Valley Champion
Doubles (20-draw)
Hayley Carter/Jessie Aney (North Carolina) – All-American Champion
Luisa Stefani/Jean Runglerdkriangkrai (Pepperdine) – AA Runner-Up
Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (Kentucky) – AA Consolation Champion
Diana Bogoliy/Rosalie Willing (Lynn) – Oracle Cup Champion
Milou Pietersz/Vivienne Kulicke (UTEP) – ITA Mountain Champion
Vladica Babic/Carla Tur Mari (OKST) – ITA Central Champion
Kristina Hovsepyan/Alexandra Stanova (Maryland) – ITA Atlantic Champion
Erin Routliffe/Andie Daniell (Alabama) – ITA Southern Champion
Kate Fahey/Alex Najarian (Michigan) – ITA Midwest Champion
Ellyse Hamlin/Samantha Harris (Duke) – ITA Carolina Champion
Josie Kuhlman/Belinda Woolcock (Florida) – ITA Southeast Champion
Mayar Ahmed/Christine Maddox (Pepperdine) – ITA Southwest Champion
Blair Shankle/Elizabeth Profit (Baylor) – ITA Texas Champion
Lesedi Jacobs/Justina Mikulskyte (Kentucky) – ITA Ohio Valley Champion
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