CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With wins in today's round of 32 singles, junior Alexandra Abyasova and sophomore Tijana Zlatanovic both punched their tickets to the ITA Midwest Super Regionals, held later this fall in Columbus, Ohio from Oct. 22-25. Full results from Saturday's action at the Midwest Regionals can be found on the ITA website.
"Alex and Tijana both played very well and showed a lot of discipline when executing their game plans today," said head coach Maja Kovacek. "I'm excited to see them play another challenging match tomorrow."
Abyasova defeated Michigan State's Ayshe Can (6-4, 6-1) while Zlatanovic took down Nibedita Ghosh of Notre Dame (6-4, 6-3) to qualify for Super Regionals and advance to the round of 16. While they have already punched their tickets to Columbus, Abyasova and Zlatanovic will continue play in the singles main draw again tomorrow for seeding purposes.
Junior Tara Damnjanovic also tallied a win in singles play on Saturday, taking a match over Christine Gouws of Eastern Illinois (4-6, 6-1 [10-1]) in the consolation bracket. In the doubles consolation bracket, Damnjanovic and partner Laura Fitzgerald defeated DePaul's Marija Jovicic/Maddie Yergler (5-2, Ret.).
Damnjanovic/Fitzgerald's victory was the lone win in doubles action on Saturday for the Redbirds.
"We weren't solid enough in doubles today and I give the team a lot of credit for responding the way they did in singles," Kovacek said.
The Redbirds wrap up competition at the ITA Midwest Regionals tomorrow with live stats and streaming available on the Tournament Central page.
The 18-team ITA Midwest Regional field features top players from Illinois, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, Wisconsin, Toledo, Northwestern, DePaul, Northern Illinois, Colorado State, Michigan State, Ohio State, UIC, Valparaiso, Marquette, Bowling Green, Eastern Illinois, Michigan and the Redbirds.
DAY 2 RESULTS
SINGLES (MAIN)
ROUND OF 32
Tijana Zlatanovic (ISU) def. Nibedita Ghosh (Notre Dame) 6-4, 6-3
Alexandra Abyasova (ISU) def. Ayshe Can (Michigan State) 6-4, 6-1
SINGLES (CONSOLATION)
ROUND OF 32
Tara Damnjanovic (ISU) def. Christine Gouws (Eastern Illinois) 4-6, 6-1 [12-10]
Natalija Popovic (Marquette) def. Penelope Abreu (ISU) 6-4, 2-6, 10-1
Giulia Turconi (Marquette) def. Elena Jankulovska (ISU) 3-0, Ret.
DOUBLES (MAIN)
ROUND OF 32
Cassie Alcala/Sloane Teske (Toledo) def. Maria Potsi/Tijana Zlatanovic (ISU) 8-3
Nastasya Semenovski/Taylor Cataldi (Wisconsin) def. Alexandra Abyasova/Elena Jankulovska (ISU) 8-5
Megan Heuser/Ashley Yeah (Illinois) def. Penelope Abreu/Tara Damnjanovic (ISU) 8-2
Julie Fliegner/Merri Kelly (Michigan) def. Othilia Brodin/Laura Fitzgerald (ISU) 8-5
DOUBLES (CONSOLATION)
ROUND OF 16
Amanda Tabenera/Isabella Schoolcraft (Valpo) def. Elena Jankulovska/Ohilia Brodin (ISU) 6-5, Ret.
Tara Damnjanovic/Laura Fitzgerald (ISU) def. Marija Jovicic/Maddie Yergler (DePaul) 5-2, Ret.
Emma Kojcic/Giulia Turconi (Marquette) def. Maria Potsi/Penolope Abreu (ISU) 8-6
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