The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
ITA Regional Championships
Two Zips Advance to Main Singles Draw at Midwest Regional
October 23 | Women's Tennis
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ITA Midwest Regional Site | Qualifying Singles Draw (PDF) | Main Doubles Draw (PDF) | Main Singles Draw (PDF)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Sophomores Sophia Geier and Ariadna Blinova both advanced to participate in the singles main draw at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships after defeating their opponents in the finals of the qualifying singles draw on Friday at the University of Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center.
"I am excited to see Ari and Sophia advance to the main draw," head coach Brandon Padgett said. "Both played excellent tennis today, and it is great to see their efforts rewarded."
Geier overpowered Western Michigan's Katja Fevralev 6-4, 6-3, while Blinova took down Andrea Martinovska from Eastern Michigan in a close 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5) decision.
Competition in the main singles draw begins Saturday, with the Geier scheduled to face off against DePaul's Rebeca Mitea and Blinova set to take on Lee Or of Northwestern.
"It is nice to still be playing on the Saturday at Regionals," Padgett continued. "Both Ari and Sophia have extremely difficult matches ahead of them, but that is what we came here for, to see how we match up against some of the best players in the country."
In main draw doubles consolation competition, Geier and fellow sophomore Karolina Maksimova won their first doubles match with an 8-6 victory over Eastern Michigan's Anna Veleva and Renu Sharma.
In their second doubles match, the Zips' duo lost to top contenders Miho Kowase and Anna Sanford 8-4 from Ohio State.
The Zips' pair of Blinova and Martina Zerbola dropped an 8-3 loss to DePaul's Jarret Fisher and Zaina Sufi.
"I saw good and bad today from both teams in doubles," Padgett concluded, "But once they began to play strategically how I wanted them to, we saw marked improvement."
Qualifying Singles Draw Results
Final Round:
Geier (Akron) def. Fevralev (Western Michigan) 6-4, 6-3
Blinova (Akron) def. Martinovska (Eastern Michigan) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5)
Doubles Main Draw Results
Round of 64:
Geier/Maksimava (Akron) def. Veleva/Sharma (Eastern Michigan) 8-6
Fisher/Sofi (DePaul) def. Blinova/Zerbola (Akron) 8-3
Round of 32:
#5-8 Seed Kowase/Sanford (Ohio State) def. Geier/Maksimava 8-4
