Texan Tennis attends invite-only championship
By: Sydnie Grossnickle
Multimedia Journalist
Tarleton State University’s womens tennis had eight competitors at the ITA Texas Regional Championship on Sept. 22-25. This tournament was an invite-only affair with representatives from many NCAA Division I programs in the state.
Freshman Emma Persson automatically qualified for the main draw because of her 9.04 Universal Tennis Rating. She advanced the furthest of all the Tarleton singles participants.
Photo Courtesy: Tarleton Athletics
Persson made it to the singles main draw Round of 16. She fell short to Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Jackie Nylander. The Sweden native went 2-1 in singles on the weekend.
“With Emma getting to the Round of 16, that shows we are pushing the level of our program to new heights and want to be considered one of the best non-Power Five teams in Texas,” Head Coach Elianne Douglas-Miron said to Tarleton Sports.
Elif Albayrak, Elsa Boisson, Martha Makantasi, Ximena Morales and Clara Sobius each won their first match of the qualifying singles draw. Makantasi, Morales and Sobius did not advance past the qualifying singles draw Round of 32.
Albayrak and Boisson went 2-0 in the qualifying draw, advancing to the main draw. Albayrak could not participate in the singles main draw because of an injury. Boisson dropped the first match of the main draw to Houston’s Sonya Kovalenko.
“Elsa and Elif were impressive getting through tough matches in the qualification draw, showing their competitive spirit, which defines our team,” Douglas-Miron said to Tarleton Sports.
Tarleton’s doubles teams struggled at this event. Makantasi and Albayrak were the only doubles team to advance past the main draw Round of 64. The duo dropped their tough main draw Round of 32 match against SMU’s Winslow Huth and Maja Makoric.
“We still have a lot of opportunities to compete this fall, and I’m excited to watch us compete again,” Douglas-Miron said to Tarleton Sports.
The Texans enjoy a month-long break. Tennis will hit the road for San Antonio for the University of Incarnate Word’s Cardinal Classic on Oct. 28-29.
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