Oct. 20, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team hits the road this weekend for the ITA’s annual Ohio Valley Regional Championships. Hosted by Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tenn., the four-day tournament begins Friday.
Regional singles and doubles champions advance to the third ITA national championship of the season, the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. VU’s Astra Sharma has already locked down her NIIC spot, having made it to the semifinals of All-Americans two weeks ago.
In singles competition, Sydney Campbell owns the No. 1 seed in the main draw with Fernanda Contreras, Emma Kurtz and Emily Smith taking 9-16 seeds.
Campbell is set to take on Cincinnati’s Lauren Bellinger in the first round of competition. Contreras will face a main draw qualifier, while Kurtz squares off against Miami’s Shteyn. Smith, the final seed, will play Lipscomb’s Tshatedi.
Christina Rosca will face a main draw qualifier, with sophomore Summer Dvorak rounding out singles play against Indiana’s Appel.
Sharma will not compete in singles play but will pair with Kurtz as the fourth doubles seed. Also seeded are Smith and Contreras, who own a five-eight seed. VU’s Campbell/Rosca and Payton Robinette/Dvorak will compete together as unseeded tandems.
Both seeded Commodore doubles pairs enjoy a first round bye in Friday’s action. Campbell/Rosca face Indiana’s Appel/Schmider while Robinette/Devorak have a tough first round competitor in Xavier’s seeded DiLorenzo/Loggins.
All regional matches are held at the Adams Tennis Complex and admission is free. For more information, visit the 2016 ITA Regionals homepage.
