BLACKSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary women's tennis team advanced a pair of
singles players and two doubles on the second day of the ITA Atlantic Region
Championships. Junior
Maria Belaya and freshman
Leeza Nemchinov both move into the second round of the main singles draw, while two Tribe doubles teams
will compete in the Round of 16 on Sunday.
In doubles action, the Tribe junior duo of
Maria Belaya and
Jeltje Loomans, which is seeded No. 3 at the regional event, cruised to an 8-2
triumph over the Morgan State team of Arina Alilueva and
Margarita Belyakova. With the victory, the No. 12-ranked team in the country
improved to a perfect 4-0 on the year and advanced to the Round of 16 on
Sunday. Belaya and Loomans will face the Marshall team of Karlyn Timko and Dana
Oppinger at 8 a.m.
Senior
Anik Cepeda and Nemchinov rolled into the round of 16
with an 8-2 triumph over the Richmond team of Melissa Kandinata and
Katya Salas. The Tribe pair improved to 3-1 on the year and will
face the No. 5 seeded Virginia duo of Caryssa Peretz and Maria Fuccillo at 8:30
a.m. on Sunday.
In the main singles flight, Belaya and Nemchinov both
tallied straight set wins in the first round. Belaya, who is the
No. 5 seed in the singles draw, improved to 5-3 on the year with a 6-2, 6-0 win
over UMBC's Shannon Cleary. Nemchinov downed Maryland's Sarah Gealer,
6-4, 6-2, to even her season ledger at 4-4.
Both the second round and round of 16 will be competed on
Sunday. Belaya will meet Penn State's Katherine Whiteaway in the second round
at 12:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to the third round match at 3:30 p.m.
on Sunday. Nemchinov will meet Virginia's Maci Epstein, who is seeded No. 8 in
the singles flight, at 11 a.m. in the second round, and the winner will take
part in the round of 16 at 2 p.m.
Virginia Tech is the host of the ITA Atlantic Region Championship, which runs
through Tuesday, Oct. 23, at the Burrows-Burelson Tennis Center. The
singles and doubles winners of the ITA Atlantic Regional will earn a spot in
the exclusion USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships at
the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., Nov. 8-11.
The National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship is the second fall national
championship event in college tennis and includes a 32-player singles draw and
20-team doubles bracket for both men and women.
W&M Results from
the ITA Atlantic Region Championships
Main Doubles Draw
Second Round (32)
#3 Belaya/Loomans (W&M) [12] def. Alilueva/Belyakova
(Morgan State) - 8-2
#9-16 Cepeda/Nemchinov (W&M) def. Kandinata/Salas
(Richmond) - 8-2
#9-16 Kurcin/Ball (Marshall) def. Vulovich/Smith (W&M) -
8-4
Main Singles Draw
First Round (64)
Leeza Nemchinov (W&M) def. Sarah Gealer (Maryland) - 6-4,
6-2
Kelly Comolli (Georgetown) def.
Anik Cepeda (W&M)
6-1, 1-6, 6-1
#5
Maria Belaya (W&M) def. Shannon
Cleary (UMBC) - 6-2, 6-0
