FLUSHING, N.Y. - William and Mary women's tennis juniors
Maria Belaya and
Jeltje Loomans ran their winning streak to nine matches with a second round victory in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Doubles
Championship on Thursday morning at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The No.
3-seeded Tribe duo advance to the quarterfinals, which are slated for Friday
morning starting at 9 a.m.
Belaya and Loomans, who are ranked No. 12 nationally in the
preseason ITA doubles rankings, jumped out to an early 3-1 advantage over the
Columbia team of Bianca Sanon and Tiana Takenaga. The
Lion duo rallied to take a 5-4 advantage, before the Tribe tandem won four of
the final five games on the way to an 8-6 triumph. Belaya and Loomans, who have
won 22 of their last 23 doubles matches dating back to last spring, improved to
a perfect 9-0 during the fall.
The Tribe pair advance to the quarterfinal where it will
face the No. 17-ranked Alabama team of Alexa Guarachi and MaryAnne Macfarlane. The
Alabama duo downed the Virginia pair of Maci Epstein and Erin Vierra, 8-6, in
the second round on Thursday to earn its spot in the quarterfinals. Belaya and Loomans also own a victory over Epstein and Vierra, having downed the UVa team, 8-2, in the finals of the Atlantic Region Championship at the end of October. The quarterfinal match-up will be a
chance at a little revenge for the Tribe tandem against an Alabama duo. Last season, Guarachi and then-Crimson
Tide senior Courtney McLane ended Belaya and Loomans' season at 2012 NCAA
Doubles Championship, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
The only championship to showcase elite
players from every level of collegiate sports, the USTA/ITA National Indoor
Intercollegiate Championships serves as the culmination of the fall season.
Hosted by Columbia University, the prestigious event is the second of three
individual national championship tournaments in college tennis and features
exclusion championship draws of 32 singles players and 20 doubles teams for
both the men and women.
Ken Thomas of
RadioTennis.com will
be on site throughout the week, providing a live broadcast
beginning at 10:15 a.m. each day. For complete coverage of the 2012 USTA/ITA
National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, including access to draws, live
scores and more, please visit the
official ITA event page.
Follow the ITA on Twitter, @ITAtennis, for updates and news from Flushing. Use
the hashtag #NationalIndoors for all tweets in regards to the event, or search
the term "NationalIndoors" to find others who are tweeting from the
USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
W&M Results from the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship
Doubles Main Draw Second Round (16)
#3 Belaya/Loomans (W&M) [12] def. Sanon/Takenaga (Columbia) - 8-6
