Carpenter, Vasquez win ITA Regional doubles championship

NEW ORLEANS  – Lucy Carpenter and Fatima Vasquez of the Wolf Pack women's tennis team will be making a second-straight trip to the ITA Cup, as Loyola's top duo was crowned doubles champions at the 2022 ITA Gulf Regional on Sunday.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) administers college tennis tournaments and championships at a regional and national level. The singles and doubles champions of each of the eight regionals receive automatic bids to the ITA Cup, which serves as the individual national championship for the NAIA. The 2022 ITA Cup runs from October 12-16 in Rome, Ga.

This year's regional championship match featured Carpenter and Vasquez, the No. 3 seed, against the top-seeded LSU Alexandria team of Olivia Scattini and Annemart Kleijn. Scattini and Kleijn ended last season as the No. 6-ranked doubles team in the NAIA, while the ITA had Loyola's tandem ranked No. 19. 

The Wolf Pack team of Carpenter and Vasquez certainly made a case to be ranked higher, as they defeated LSUA's team 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (11-9). The match was far from easy, however, as it lasted for over two and half hours and each set ended in a tiebreaker. Loyola trailed in the first set tiebreak 6-1 before rallying back to take a 1-0 set lead in the match. 

Both Loyola players have a wealth of experience playing in fall tournaments. Carpenter, a junior from New York, will be competing in her third ITA Cup. Vasquez, a senior from Peru, joined Carpenter in doubles at the ITA Cup in 2021. They also made the finals of the ITA Regional last season, but this was the first time Loyola has earned a win at a regional in singles or doubles. 

Wolf Pack head coach Matt Llewellyn

"Incredible championship match. The atmosphere and level over almost 3 hours is why college tennis is the best version of our sport.  

After losing a close championship match here last year it was Lucy and Fatima's goal to come back and win this event. LSUA played an unbelievable match. Our girls had to give everything they had to beat them. They needed every voice and every cheer from our team to push through. I'm so proud of them and our team.

It's a huge win for our program and what we are building. It's a huge win for Fatima and Lucy. They will go down as one of the greatest duos in Loyola tennis history. They've earned that and are just getting started."

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