The Eastern Michigan University women’s tennis team had three athletes represent the round of 32 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional at the University of Michigan this past weekend.
“As a whole, I’m pleased with the level of play from our team,” said coach Ryan Ray in a release by EMU. “Getting three players into the final 32 in the region is something that I’m not sure has been achieved at EMU before, at least not in the recent history.”
The three EMU tennis players to make the round of 32 in the singles main draw were senior Nino Mebuke, sophomore Klara Supejova, and senior Diana Davitaia. All of which were defeated in straight sets leading to the round of 16 for the weekend.
EMU had a much better finish this year at the ITA Midwest Regional compared to last year’s outing. Supejova was the lone Eagle to advance to the round of 32 in the singles main draw after an impressive run through the qualifying stages.
No. 8 seeded Supejova had a first-round bye in the singles main draw before losing to U of M’s Kristen Dodge in the round of 32, (4-6, 4-6).
No. 22 seeded Mebuke defeated Depaul’s Jarrett Fisher (6-4, 6-4) in the first round of the singles main draw before losing to Northwestern’s Alicia Barnett (1-6, 1-6).
No. 36 seeded Davitaia defeated Depaul’s Kelsey Lawson (6-3, 6-3) in the first round of the singles main draw before losing to U of M’s Ronnit Yurovsky, (3-6, 1-6)
No. 33 seeded Yurovsky defeated No. 1 seeded Emina Bektas in the singles final of the ITA Midwest Regional Championships; both of which were representing the U of M tennis team.
The ITA Midwest Regional consisted of 48 qualifying singles players, 48 main draw singles, and 48 double teams spanning the state of Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois.
In the doubles main draw, Senior Diana Davitaia and freshman Maria Paula Ribero won its first match against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne’s Sato and Shustova, 8-6, before losing in the round of 32 to Northwestern’s Barnett and Corning.
Other EMU notables worth mentioning in doubles play were Mebuke and Supejova finishing in the round of 32 after a first round bye.
The Eagles next meet takes place Oct. 26 at the Spartan Invitational in East Lansing.
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