ANN ARBOR, Mich. – After a full day of competition, the Redbirds had a pair of athletes fighting for spots in Friday's main draw of the ITA Midwest Regionals hosted by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
"We were a bit up and down today and didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had," ISU head coach Maja Kovacek said. "We will have to start matches better in doubles tomorrow to give ourselves a chance."
Silvia Pomarolli would take to the courts in first round action against Western Michigan's Valeriya Monko. Pomarolli would come out on top by a final of 6-2, 6-4 to claim her third win of the fall season and advance to the round of 32 against Shalini Tallamraju of Toledo.
Once the second round got started for Pomarolli, she would fall in the first set 6-1 as she looked to rebound and even the match at one set apiece. Unfortunately, it would be a straight set victory for Tallamraju, after taking the second set 6-1.
Tijana Zlatanovic started her day on the courts against Cleveland State's Tereze Vevere. Despite dropping the first set 6-1, Zlatanovic responded to take the next two sets by similar 6-3 scores and advance to face Yashna Yellayi (ND) in the next round.
In the second round, Zlatanovic would fall behind after dropping the first set 6-0. From there, it would be Yellayi storming back in the second set to take the 6-3 win and overall match victory.
Finally, Alexandra Abyasova would go up against NIU's Erika Dimitriev to start her day. Abyasova would drop the first set 3-6 before responding to take the second set 6-3. However, it would be Dimitriev taking control and winning the decisive third set, 6-1, to claim a spot in the next round of competition.
The Redbirds will see Nevena Kolarevic in singles action Friday as she was given an automatic bid to the main draw of this year's ITA Midwest Regionals. Along with Kolarevic, the 'Birds will be back in action tomorrow with doubles action to start the day.
Doubles main draw will kickstart Friday action at 8 a.m. followed by singles main draw later Friday afternoon. Links to live stats and live video are available at goredbirds.com.
Qualifying Singles Round 1 Results:
Silvia Pomarolli (ISU) def. Valeriya Monko (WMU) 6-2, 6-4
Tijana Zlatanovic (ISU) def. Tereze Veyere (CSU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Erika Dimitriev (NIU) def. Alexandra Abyasova (ISU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Qualifying Singles Round 2 Results:
Shalini Tallamraju (TOL) def. Silvia Pomarolli (ISU) 6-1, 6-1
Yashna Yellayi (ND) def. Tijana Zlatanovic (ISU) 6-0, 6-3
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