Lady Flames Off to Strong Start Through Day 1 of ITA Atlantic Regional
10/1/2021 6:04:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Liberty women's tennis team got off to a strong start on day one of the ITA Atlantic Regional, winning five matches at the Liberty Tennis Complex.
In singles, Maria Juliana Parra Romero and Tiffany Nguyen won their round of 64 matches. The Lady Flames combined for a 3-3 mark in singles on the day. Liberty captured both of its singles matches on Friday, with both squads advancing to tomorrow morning's round of 16.
Key Stats & Notes
• Both of Liberty's doubles teams had to overcome 5-4 deficits in order to win their respective round of 32 doubles matches.
• The Lady Flames' Maria Juliana Parra Romero and Micaela Ode Mitre, the No. 4 doubles seed trailed Richmond's Andrea Campodonico and Sara Saleymyr 5-4 before winning the next three games to take the match, 7-5. Leading 6-5 and facing a deuce point, Ode Mitre served the team to victory.
• Parra Romero and Ode Mitre will meet William & Mary's Lisa Fukutoku and Kenzie Cricchio in the round of 16, tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m.
• Liberty's other doubles pairing in the tournament, Eloise Saraty and Tiffany Nguyen trailed 5-4 and 6-5 to Marshall's Liz Stefancic and Jutte Van Hansewyck. Saraty and Nguyen won the next game to set up a tiebreaker. The Liberty duo trailed 6-3 in the tiebreaker and faced three straight Marshall match points before winning dramatic fashion, 7-6 (10-8).
• Saraty and Nguyen will take on Virginia Tech's Annie Clark and Katie Andreini in Saturday morning's round of 16.
• Parra Romero, the No. 8 seed in the singles main draw, topped Radford's Melissa Ifidzhen in straight sets (6-1, 6-1) to improve to 4-0 on the year. She advances to face William & Mary's Lisa Fukutoku in tomorrow's round of 32 at 9:30 a.m.
• Nguyen defeated Virginia Tech's Chhinda Som 6-2, 6-0 and now sports a 3-1 fall singles mark. The Liberty sophomore will take on No. 9 seed Kendall Kovick of West Virginia in the round of 32.
• After a loss in her Friday morning singles match, Lady Flames sophomore Eloise Saraty bounced back with a straight-sets decision (6-3, 6-1) over Longwood's Emma Nurgazieva.
• This is Liberty's third time hosting the ITA Atlantic Regional. The Lady Flames hosted the event previously in 2015 and 2018. This is the first year that the ITA Atlantic Regional has been split into South and North divisions, with a Super Regional to follow.
Up Next
Day two of the regional will start on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. with the doubles round of 16.
Remaining Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 2 | 8:30 a.m. start
Doubles Round of 16
Singles Round of 32
Singles Backdraw Matches
Sunday, Oct. 3 | 8:30 a.m. start
Doubles Quarterfinals
Singles Round of 16
Extra Matches
Monday, Oct. 4
Makeup day if needed