BRUNSWICK, ME— The Ephs competed hard at their first tournament of the fall season. ITA Regionals, hosted at Bowdoin College, saw the players face off against a wide variety of teams today.
The tournament began with a round of doubles.
Ahn Lin and
Julia Zhang were first on court, competing against a team from Amherst College. Lin's volleys combined with Zhang's serves allowed them to hold many games, but they were unable to break their opponent's serves and eventually fell 8-3. Things would soon turn around for the Ephs, however, as
Annabelle Siegel and
Jane Ladaga repeated their pairing from last season as the tournament's eighth seeds. After receiving a bye, they faced a pair of tough opponents from Middlebury. The team initially struggled to find their footing, going down 1-4. However, they soon turned it around, using Siegel's devastating baseline power and Ladaga's net play to flip the script and win 8-7 (3).
Fourth seeds
Yuu Ishikawa and
Margaux Molyneux continued the winning trend, defeating their opponents from MIT 8-1. Molyneux's serve and Ishikawa's trademark volleys paired well, and the team made a successful debut as they advance to the round of 16.
As play split between outdoors and indoor surfaces, the Ephs also saw mixed results in singles. Sophomore
Julia Zhang competed first against last year's NESCAC Rookie of the Year from Wesleyan. Zhang struggled to find her ground in the first set and went down quickly in the second, 1-4. However, she was able to recover and take the lead 5-4. Unfortunately, some strong play by her opponent ended the second set at 5-7.
Annabelle Siegel also found herself in a tight match against Tufts. After going down 0-5 in the first set, she was able to recover some rhythm, winning the next three games. This helped her to start the second set strong, taking a 5-2 lead and using her forehand to dictate play. Despite an inspired comeback by her opponent, she eventually closed out the second set in a tiebreak. Unfortunately, her opponent's defense proved difficult to overcome, and she fell short in a third set tiebreaker.
Margaux Molyneux was next on. Her aggressive baseline game helped her to dictate play, as she used the full angles of the court to run her opponent from side to side. Combined with her serve, she took an early lead in both sets and held on to win 6-2, 6-3.
Ellie Stark also competed well, winning her first round against an opponent from Trinity. After taking an early lead 4-1, she won a critical deuce point at 4-3 to take back control of the set. Stark didn't look back, winning the match 8-4.
Indoors,
Yuu Ishikawa played a competitive match against an opponent from Bowdoin. The speed of the surface complemented her opponent's game, and Ishikawa dropped a tightly contested first set in a tiebreak. Although continuing to fight, her opponent's serves proved the deciding factor and Ishikawa fell 6-7 (5), 2-6.
Freshman
Mia Roets made her college debut, playing an extremely consistent opponent from Colby. Roets struggled to find rhythm in the first set, but fought hard in the second to draw level at 5-5. Unfortunately, she was unable to close out the match and ultimately fell 2-6, 5-7.
Jane Ladaga was last on indoors, playing another opponent from Bowdoin. Ladaga's consistent first serves and aggressive net play saw her take the first set 6-4. However, her opponent regrouped and made less errors, taking the second 6-4. In the third set tiebreak, Ladaga made the right choices but fell 10-3.
Outdoors, Molyneux returned for her second round against a top ranked seed from Brandeis. Although competing hard, her feisty opponent played aggressively and was able to dictate play. Molyneux eventually fell 3-6, 2-6.
Stark returned for her second round of singles as well. Although taking an early 4-2 lead, her opponent utilized the slice and drop shot to change the rhythm of play. Despite a number of excellent forehands and serves, she fell 4-8.
Eph head
Anik Cepeda said, "We had a bumpy up and down day one, but I hope it fuels our motivation for day two. We all need to level up our coach ability, our accountability actively doing the tough and right things to become stronger competitors and teammates and up our tenacity on court. Tomorrow we'll have another opportunity to fire each other up. Let's see what happens."
After a long day of matches, the Ephs return for Day 2 of ITA Regionals tomorrow, where Ishikawa/Molyneux and Siegel/Ladaga will be continuing their doubles run. The Ephs will look to continue to improve in match play as their first event of the fall continues.
Results:
Doubles Round of 64:
Karolina Dobiecka/Tina She (AMH) def.
Ahn Lin/
Julia Zhang (WILL) 8-3
Annabelle Siegel/
Jane Ladaga (WILL) def. Ananya Annapantula/Gusty Beveridge (MIDD) 8-2
Yuu Ishikawa/
Margaux Molyneux (WILL) def Selma Petrie/Sophia Min (MIT)
Singles Round of 64 (A Draw):
Jackie Soloveychik (WES) def.
Julia Zhang (WILL) 6-2, 7-5
Ellie Gershaw (TUFT) def.
Annabelle Siegel (WILL) 6-3, 6-7, 10-6
Isabella Hartung (BOWD) def.
Yuu Ishikawa (WILL) 7-6 (5), 6-2
Margaux Molyneux (WILL) def. Riya Matharoo (BAB) 6-2, 6-3
Julia Ross (BOWD) def.
Jane Ladaga (WILL) 4-6, 6-4, 10-3
Ella Novion (COLB) def.
Mia Roets (WILL) 6-2, 7-5
Singles Round of 64 (B Draw):
Ellie Stark (WILL) def. Julia Clark (TRIN) 8-4
Singles Round of 32 (A Draw):
Rebecca Suarez (BRAN) def.
Margaux Molyneux 6-3, 6-2
Singles Round of 32 (B Draw):
Alessandra Cristiani (BAB) def.
Ellie Stark (WILL) 8-4
