Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
Composite

Union, TWU Move on in NAIA Women's Tennis Championship

Union, TWU Move on in NAIA Women's Tennis Championship
May 18, 2022

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [BRACKET | SCHEDULE] In its first appearance in women's tennis national championship play, No. 20-seeded St. Thomas (Fla.) upset No. 13 Indiana Tech as the first day of action came to a close.  

In addition to the Bobcats' 4-2 win, Saint Katherine (Calif.) finished out the most exciting match of the championship thus far with a 4-3 victory over Ave Maria (Fla.).

Game Notes & Highlights

  • Similar to the men's championships First Round, the No. 17 team prevailed over the No. 16 team, and it came down to the wire. Saint Katherine took a 1-0 lead after doubles play, but a trio of singles victories, including Kely Oliveira's 7-6 (1), 6-0, at the bottom spot, gave the Gyrenes a narrow 3-2 lead with the end in sight. Then, USK's Laura Eugenio De Hilario posted a gutty 7-6 (6), 2-6, 7-6 (3), win at the top flight, setting up a winner-take-all at the three. In incredible come-from-behind fashion, Chahenda Galal defeated Valentine Colin by a 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) fashion, setting up a showdown between the Firebirds and top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett in the Second Round.
  • No. 9 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) needed no drama in its 4-0 sweep of No. 24 IU East (Ind.). The Blue Raiders received wins from Salome Sposetti and Anastasiia Ivanchenko at the bottom two singles flights to run away with the win.
  • No. 12 Cumberlands (Ky.) took a fairly quick 4-1 win over host No. 21 Mobile (Ala.). Down 3-0, Mobile picked up a point at the third flight, courtesy of Sofija Hrovat, but the Patriots clinched at the six as Fan Shiau defeated Emily John, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, in come-from-behind fashion.
  • In the biggest upset of the first round, No. 20 St. Thomas (Fla.) stunned No. 13 Indiana Tech, 4-2. The Bobcats quickly dispatched the top two flights of doubles play to take the point, but the Warriors stormed back to take a 2-1 lead. Spurred on by Carme Ibanez Navarro's 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, dramatic win over Roshne Arunkumar at the fifth flight, St. Thomas rattled off three consecutive points to clinch the upset.
  • Bolstered by quick doubles wins, No. 14 Southeastern (Fla.) advanced to the second round in 4-0 fashion over No. 19 Midland (Neb.). Abigail Damon posted a near sweep at the sixth flight, taking a 6-1, 6-0, win over Lainie Fanton.
  • No. 11 William Carey (Miss.) enjoyed a 4-0 win over No. 22 Cardinal Stritch (Wisc.). The quick affair ended when Marina Prieto took down Emerson Banning in 7-6 (2), 6-3, fashion.
  • In another 4-0 affair, No. 10 Tennessee Wesleyan swept past No. 23 Southwestern (Kan.). The Bulldogs used a pair of 6-2 wins in doubles action before Astrid Staksrud ended the shutout effort with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Mariana Ochoa at the bottom singles slot.
  • In a 4-1 final, No. 15 Union (Ky.) dispatched No. 18 William Woods to advance. After a pair of narrow 7-5 wins at the bookends of doubles action, the Owls managed to take a point to pull within a 3-1 score, but Karen Kondo ended the match with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Rukshika Wijesooriya.
  • Higher seeds went 6-2 on day one of play.
  • First-time championship qualifiers went 2-1 on Tuesday.