MORGANTOWN, W.Va – Six members of the West Virginia University women’s tennis team opened play at the ITA Atlantic Regional Championships on Friday in Norfolk, Virginia.
“It is good for us to face stiff competition and continue to learn valuable lessons for the spring campaign,” fourth-year coach Miha Lisac said. “We will continue to prepare for tomorrow’s matches and learn from this experience.”
WVU opened the tournament with two first round matchups in the singles qualifiers. Carolina Lewis fell to Penn’s Jacqueline Zuhse in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, and 7-5. Georgia Tech’s Cecilia Lynham defeated Paula Goetz, 6-4 and 6-3.
In the singles backdraw, Goetz bested Sansitha Nandakumar of Virginia Tech, 6-1 and 6-1. Carolina Lewis defeated Radford’s Natalie Sayer, 6-4 and 7-5.
In the doubles main draw, Kaja Mrgole and Lyn Yuen Choo fell to Rebekah Anderson and Aleksandra Panchenko of Liberty, 8-1. James Madison’s Emma Peterson and Jona Roka defeated Habiba Shaker and Christina Jordan, 8-4.
The tournament resumes for the Mountaineers on Saturday, October 15, as Shaker takes on Anna Dollar of Liberty in the first round of the singles main draw. The match is slated to begin at 2:15 p.m. ET at the the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center on the campus of Old Dominion University.
A recap of the Saturday’s action will be available on WVUsports.com.
Singles Qualifiers:
First Round:
Jacqueline Zuhse (Penn) def. Carolina Lewis (WVU) – 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
Cecilia Lynham (GT) def. Paula Goetz (WVU) – 6-4, 6-3
Backdraw:
Paula Goetz (WVU) def. Sansitha Nandakumar (VT) – 6-1, 6-1
Caroline Lewis (WVU) def. Natalie Sayer (Radford) – 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Main Draw:
First Round:
Anderson/Aleksandra (LIB) def. Mrgole/Choo (WVU) – 8-1
Peterson/Roka (JMU) def. Shaker/Jordan (WVU) – 8-4
