Women's ITA Regional
Women's ITA Midwest Regional
Hosted by Gustavus Adolphus College
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Gustavus Sweeps Singles and Doubles Titles at ITA Midwest Regional
The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s tennis team swept the singles and doubles titles at the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Region Championships which were held on the Gustavus campus this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In the singles championship Gustavus’ Jaime Gaard, the #8 seed, upset teammate Lauren Hom, the #4 seed, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to claim the title. In the doubles championship, Hom and Marla Menne, defeated Amanda Santa Romana and Elicza Buys of Carthage, 9-8 (7-4 in the tiebreaker). Gaard, Hom, and Menne now advance to the ITA National Small College Championships, which will take place Oct. 13-16 at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.
Gaard, who played the #5 position for the Gusties last spring, played terrific tennis during the three-day tournament. She did not drop set in her first four matches. Gaard advanced to the final by virtue of a default by Jordan Hook of Wheaton as college policy does not allow Wheaton student athletes to compete on Sundays. Gaard then dropped the opening set in the final against Hom, before rallying to win the next two sets and the title.
Hom and Menne, who were seeded #1 in the doubles draw, held on for a thrilling 9-8 win over the #3 seeded team of Santa Romana and Buys of Carthage. The match, which was filled with terrific shot-making and crisp rallies, came down to a tiebreaker where Hom and Menne outlasted Santa Romana and Buys 7-4. Hom and Menne advanced to the final with an 8-6 win over Megan Tiegs and Lindy Browne of St. Benedict, while Santa Romana and Buys advanced by virtue of a default by Elizabeth Maclellan and Jordan Hook of Wheaton.
Sixty-one players took part in the singles tournament and 30 teams took part in the doubles tournament at the Midwest Regional, which is one of eight Division III Regionals sanctioned by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Gustavus Set to host Wilson/ITA Midwest Region Championships
Gustavus Adolphus College is hosting one of the 58 Wilson/ITA Regional Championships played across the country. The Women's Division III Midwest Region Championships will take place Friday, September 23 through Sunday, September 25.
The Wilson/ITA Women's Division III Championships at Gustavus will feature the top 15 schools in the region. The singles and doubles champions from this weekend's tournament advance to the Oct. 13-16 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Small College Championships at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.
Seventy-five of the top singles and doubles players in the Midwest will take part in the tournament which will begin with singles matches on Friday morning at 9 am. Elizabeth Maclellan of Wheaton College (Ill.) is the #1 seed in the singles draw. Other seeds include second seeded Megan Tiegs of the College of Saint Benedict, third seeded Sarah Russell of Carleton, and fourth seeded Lauren Hom of Gustavus. The doubles competition will begin on Friday afternoon immediately after the completion of the second round of singles play. Lauren Hom and Marla Menne of Gustavus are the #1 seeded team. Other seeds include the second seeded team of Elizabeth Maclellan and Jordan Hook of Wheaton, the third seeded team of Amanda Santa Romana and Elizca Buys of Carthage, and the fourth seeded team of Sarah Russell and Erin Koch of Carleton. All ITA Midwest Region matches will be played at the Swanson Indoor Tennis Center and the Brown Outdoor Courts which are located on the west edge of the Gustavus campus.
The ITA National Small College Championships began in 1986 and annually crowns men's and women's singles and doubles national champions in each of the ITA's four small college divisions (NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College). These championships are the only national tournaments for singles and doubles at the NCAA Division II and NAIA level, and the only tournaments that combine all levels of Junior/Community Colleges (NJCAA Divisions I-III, and California Community Colleges). Participants are determined through these Wilson/ITA Regional Championships, which serve as qualifying tournaments. The national champions from each division square off in the "Super Bowl" of Small College Tennis to determine the overall ITA National Small College Champions (who then earn berths into the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, a Division I event, in November).
As the governing body of collegiate tennis the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, presented by the USTA, and the ITA Rankings for men's and women's tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship. The official ITA website is www.itatennis.com.
