Tennis' Fall Season Concludes on Third Day of ITA Regionals

Saturday, October 14

Ann Arbor, MI

All Day

Bowling Green State University

ITA Regionals

October 14, 2017 | Women's Tennis

By: Jenna Jorgensen (Assistant Director of Athletic Communications)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – After totaling eight wins from five different players, the Bowling Green tennis program concluded the 2017 fall campaign on the third day of the ITA Midwest Regionals. Over the course of the three days of competition, the Falcons had three doubles pairings and two singles appear in the Main Draws of competition.

Updated Singles Main Draw Bracket
Updated Doubles Main Draw Bracket

ITA Midwest Regional Highlights

With a record of seven Falcons competing in the tournament, it was the most players brought by the Bowling Green squad since beginning the event in 2009, and upped its record of six participants from the 2016 season.
Leading the Falcons in singles competition was sophomore Marharita-Sophia Tavpash, who marked three straight wins in the Singles Qualifying Draw to advance to the Singles Main Draw with teammate Paula Comella. Tavpash's three wins betters her two earned at last season's ITA Regionals.
Junior Paula Comella went straight to the Singles Main Draw, although fell to Maria Tyrina (Ohio State) Saturday afternoon. Comella opened the match with a first set win of 6-1, although Tyrina rebounded to take the second by a 6-3 mark, folowed by a narrow 6-4 final.
Facing off against Cameron Corse (Notre Dame), Marharita-Sophia Tavpash appeared in the Singles Main Draw for the second time in her career. Corse was able to advance with a victory of 6-0, 6-0 on Saturday afternoon.
After advancing to the Top-16 in the Doubles Main Draw with a pair of victories yesterday, Comella and freshman Marta Bettinelli squared off against No. 3 seeded Broda / Miller (Notre Dame). The Fighting Irish were able to advance by a score of 8-3.
Overall, the Falcons went 8-12 over the last three days of competition against the best players in the Midwest region, while the eight wins are the most since a 12-9 performance in 2010 at the ITA Second Chance tournament. Previously at the ITA Regionals, the Falcons went 6-4 in 2013, bettering their record of 5-9 in 2011.
Of the five seasons in which a Falcon has qualified for the ITA Regionals, head coach Stephanie Dalmacio has led a total of 13 of the 29 Bowling Green players to compete since 2009, including six players from her first season as head coach in 2016 in addition to this year's seven participants.
It was both Comella and Polina Radeva's third consecutive year partaking in the event, while it was the second year for Tavpash and Ayumi Sasaki. Making their first career appearance at the tournament were Bowling Green rookies Bettinelli, Vanesa Pardo and Sidney Reineke.
After being the lone Falcon to qualify for the Singles Main Draw in both 2016 and 2017, Comella became the first Falcon to do so since Nikki Chiricosta in 2011.

Coach Dalmacio's Take

"We've not only proven that we deserve to compete at this level, but also showed we are going to belong to this level of competition going forward. I'm extremely proud of how the fall season went and can't wait for the spring season to make even better memories with this group."

Up Next

The Falcons will host its annual Pro-Am fundraiser on Saturday, Dec. 2. More information is to come on the event, so keep an eye on BGSUFalcons.com.
The Bowling Green tennis program will resume action on Thursday, Jan. 18 when it hosts Chicago State for non-conference action to kick off the 2018 season.

Follow the Falcons

For the most up-to-date information on the Bowling Green tennis program, follow the Falcons on Twitter at @BGSUTennis and @BGAthletics, as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.

2017 ITA Midwest Regional Results

Singles Qualifying and Main Draw
Marta Bettinelli
def. No. 5-8 Grace Tapak (Illinois), W/O
lost to Colleen O'Brien (Toledo), 6-3, 6-1

Paula Comella
lost to Maria Tyrina (Ohio State), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4

Vanesa Pardo
lost to No. 2 Rachel Papavasilopoulos (EIU), 6-1, 6-2

Polina Radeva
def. Iesha Shepherd (Chicago State), 6-1, 6-3
lost to No. 5-8 Alina Kuzmenkova (Depaul), 4-6, 7-6, 7-6

Sidney Reineke
lost to Emily Pugachevsky (EIU), 6-3, 6-3

Ayumi Sasaki
def. Barbare Eristavi (WMU), 6-4, 6-3
lost to Amelia Guevremont (UIC), 6-3, 6-4

Marharita-Sophia Tavpash
def. Srista Slaria (EIU), 6-1, 6-1
def. Darya Maltseva (Oakland), 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
def. Veronika Golanova (Illinois State), 6-1, 7-5
lost to Cameron Corse (Notre Dame), 6-0, 6-0

Doubles Main Draw
Paula Comella / Marta Bettinelli
def. Kuzmenkova / Jovicic (DePaul), 8-6
def. No. 9-16 Duong / Tapak (Illinois), W/O
lost to No. 3 Broda / Miller (Notre Dame), 8-3

Polina Radeva / Ayumi Sasaki
lost to Mayerova / Martinovska (Eastern Michigan), 8-5
lost to Kusmenkova / Jovicic (DePaul), 8-3

Marharita-Sophia Tavpash / Vanesa Pardo
lost to Belaya / Hilton (Illinois), 8-7 (2)
lost to Baylis / Memije (Michigan State), 8-3