NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack women's tennis team was among 11 programs playing at the 2023 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Gulf Regional Championships over the weekend.
With matches played at New Orleans City Park, the Wolf Pack competed against players from Blue Mountain, Dillard, LSU Alexandria, LSU Shreveport, Louisiana Christian, Mobile, Our Lady of the Lake, Texas A&M-Texarkana, William Carey, and host Xavier.
In the main singles draw, Avery Frierson, Lucy Carpenter, Micaela Ponce, and Fatima Vasquez all won their opening matches but couldn't advance past the next round, with Ponce withdrawing from the singles competition after sustaining an injury on Friday.
Freshman Avrora Volkova went undefeated in the women's singles B draw with four singles victories, three of which were played on Saturday, to win the draw in her regional debut.
In doubles, Adele Fereres and Selma Fereres got an opening-round win, as did the team of Reilly Briggs and Isabella Leaño, but both lost in the Round of 16.
Carpenter and Vasquez, seeded No. 3 in the tournament, won their first two doubles matches to advance to the semifinals before falling against a team from Xavier. Ponce and Ariana Salgueiro-Estela also won two matches, upsetting the No. 4 seed from William Carey in a tiebreak before dropping their matchup with the top overall seed.
In the women's consolation draw, Leaño won a pair of matches, while Ana Cecilia Castillo also got a win over a player from Texarkana.
The regional serves as qualifying for the ITA Cup, which begins October 12. Next for the Wolf Pack is the Dillard Invitational, which starts October 20.
"Our women had very high goals for this event. Overall, we just didn't play our best and had some bad luck. I was proud we found a way to still hang around and compete with some of the toughest teams in the NAIA.
Lucy and Fatima were playing for more Loyola history trying to make their 3rd ITA doubles final in a row. They fought hard to find their level all weekend, but came up one match short. Disappointing end to an unbelievable run at regionals. They represent everything I love about college tennis and how special the college doubles partnership can be. I'm lucky to be part of it and will enjoy this season. As always, I'm incredibly proud of them.
Avrora played well in her regional debut winning the B draw singles. I'm so proud of how she fought for us and refused to lose. She's learning so much and adjusting really well. Our women are doing an unbelievable job supporting her.
Our women's team dynamic is stronger than ever. They will continue to grow stronger as we play through the season. Our senior leadership has been awesome. I truly believe they are a special group with historic greatness ahead."
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