After mixed results from last weekend’s Cissie Leary Invitational hosted by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, women’s tennis attained impressive outcomes at their tournaments this weekend: the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships and the West Point Invitational.
Women’s tennis sent five players––first-year Melissa Sakar, first-year Akanksha Bhan, sophomore Paulina Ferrari, sophomore Christie Wan, and senior Andrea Kevakian––to the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, a NCAA Division I tournament, hosted by Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
According to head coach Ilene Weintraub, CC ’02, this year’s cohort was the largest ever sent by Columbia to the tournament. Per Weintraub, the tournament is not just important for the team but also for each player, since “any win at this event is significant, as it can help players boost their individual player records and earn national rankings.”
This weekend, the Lions competed in the pre-qualifying matches, with the goal of ensuring a spot in the qualifying matches on October 2-3. To qualify for the pre-qualifying singles, players must be an ITA wild card, the selection criteria for whom favors either an “outstanding freshman or a player who missed a significant portion of the previous season due to injury,” according to the selection criteria released by the tournament to coaches.
Sakar was the sole Lion to compete in the pre-qualifying singles round of the tournament. The first-year was unable to secure her match in the first round against Anastasia Rentouli, a senior from Mississippi State, 7-5, 6-2. She bounced back in the next round against Brianna Chisholm, a senior from Utah, defeating her opponent in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Weintraub noted that Chisholm would likely play first singles in the PAC-12 and score major wins against highly ranked players later in the year, making Sakar’s victory in their match even more impressive.
Both doubles teams excelled in the pre-qualifying doubles round on Saturday. Two wild cards were chosen for this draw––one from the host team and one according to the same specifications as for the pre-qualifying singles draw. In the first round, the pair of Bhan and Ferrari triumphed over their opponents, Dzina Milovanovic and Adrijana Lekaj from Pepperdine University, 8-5. Milovanovic, as Weintraub pointed out, was part of a doubles pair that finished ranked No. 66 last year, higher than any Ivy League pairing.
Meanwhile, the pair of Wan and Kevakian had similarly impressive results in their first match by defeating their competitors, Sadie Hammond and Gabby Schuck from Tennessee, 8-3. Both doubles teams faced tough competition in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Bhan and Ferrari were unable to capture a spot in the semi-finals against doubles pair Ariana Rahmanparast and Nandini Das from Florida State. Wan and Kevakian also lost a hard fought match against UCLA’s Abi Altick and Gabby Andrews.
Four Lions travelled to another tournament over the weekend, this one much closer to home than the ITA tournament. Sophomore Sarah Rahman, first-year Caitie Sullivan, junior Renee Ren, and junior Brianna Williams competed at the West Point Invitational hosted by Army West Point this weekend. Rahman dropped her first match in the A Singles draw 8-2, but advanced to the quarterfinals in the A Singles consolation draw. However, Rahman lost the second match to Cassie Chung from UConn, 8-1.
Sullivan dominated her first opponent with a match score of 8-1 in the A Singles draw. Sullivan was unable to achieve a win in the quarterfinals against Arina Taluyenko from Fordham 6-2, 6-3. After receiving a bye in the E Singles first round, Williams, lost the match to St. Bonaventure’s Paula Velilla 6-3, 6-0. Williams’ performance, however, was far from over. In the E Singles consolation draw, Williams achieved a first-place win against Emily Kong from Binghamton.
Ren’s remarkable tennis led her to first place in the C Singles draw. Ren overpowered her competition by defeating her opponents 8-3 in the first round, 6-0, 6-3 in the second round, and 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. On Sunday, Ren won against Paola Bou from West Point and secured a spot in the finals 6-4, 6-1. In the finals, Ren played an exciting match against her reputable opponent Caroline Vincent from West Point. The match went for three sets, but Ren beat out Vincent for first place in the C Singles draw 7-5, 2-6, 1-0(7).
Weintraub spoke highly of the junior’s play, saying “I’m hoping Renee’s 5-0 singles record will help earn her a spot at regionals so she can continue to have opportunities to compete, especially against other Ivy League schools.”
Next weekend, October 5-7, the Lions are headed to Northwestern for the Wildcat Invitational.
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