KEARNEY, NE. – After four thrilling matches on the opening day of the 2023 ITA Division II Women’s National Team Indoor Championship, the Semifinals did not disappoint, delivering to high intensity matches to determine tomorrow’s Finalists.
Beginning with the early Semifinal matchup between Saint Leo (3) and North Georgia (7), both teams showed great resilience throughout the match as each looked to earn their spot into the ITA Indoor Championship Finals for the first time in program history.
In doubles, it was North Georgia who jumped out to an early advantage as Johanna Lippert and Viktorie Wojcikova won 6-0 on court one and Angelina Linnikova and Svetlana Teterina won 6-4 from court two as the Nighthawks looked to capitalize on their advantage in singles.
When the singles action began, it was a back-and-forth affair across all six courts as Saint Leo picked up straight set victories on courts one, three, and five, while North Georgia won a hard-fought match on court four to bring the overall match score to 3-2 in favor of the Lions.
With the match now coming down to courts two and six, it was Svetlana Teterina (North Georgia) on court six who was the first to finish, taking the 7-6, 6-2 victory over Camila Keller to tie the score at 3-3 between the Lions and the Nighthawks.
Now with all eyes on court two, Saint Leo’s Claudia Borbon Roca rose to the occation and delivered a 6-7 (0), 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory to clinch Saint Leo’s spot in the National Team Indoor Finals for the first time in program history.
In the second Semifinal match of the day, Barry (1) faced off against Hawaii Pacific (5) in what would be another match seen to completion as both teams left all they had out on the courts.
Beginning with doubles, it was the Sharks who jumped out to an early advantage over the top seed as they won 6-3 on court one and 6-3 on court two propelling them ahead to singles.
Besides straight set victories on courts one, five, and six, each singles match was an all out battlle between both teams with each of courts two, three, and four needding to be decided in third set tiebreakers.
Now level at 2-2, it would be Hawaii Pacific to claim the first third set breaker as Elodie Busson won 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3 from the No. 2 position to put the Sharks ahead 3-2 in the match. Just after the conclusion of this match, Barry was able to level the score once again from court four with Selina Pichler earning a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.
With the match now in the balance of court three, it was Xiyao Wang who punched Barry’s ticket back into the National Team Indoor Championship Finals after a 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 victory in today’s match.
For Barry, they have now advanced to the Finals in each year they have participated in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, and they will look to win their second-straight Championship tomorrow.
The Finals will commence tomorrow from the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center with the Title match taking place 5:30 pm (CT) between Saint Leo (3) and Barry (1). Be sure to keep up with all of the action through the ITA Social Media streams across Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Semifinals
- 11:00 am (CT) – Saint Leo University (3) def. University of North Georgia (7), 4-3
- 6:15 pm (CT)- Barry University (1) def. Hawaii Pacific University (5), 4-3
Consolations
- 8:00 am (CT) – Flagler College (6) def. University of Central Oklahoma (2), 4-1
- 3:05 pm (CT)- University of Indianapolis (4) def. University of Nebraska, Kearney (8), 4-1
