Southern Illinois University
ITA Regional Championships
Salukis hold their own at ITA Central Regional Championships
10/20/2014 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
TULSA, Okla. - Four Salukis represented SIU's women's tennis team at the ITA Central Regional Championships, finishing with an overall 7-6 record.
Sophomore Meagan Monaghan advanced the farthest for the Salukis, coming away with two wins in the singles qualifying round to advance to the main draw. There, Monaghan defeated Drake University's Tess Herder, 6-1, 6-3, to advance to Round 2 of the main draw, where she fell to Tulsa's Dobby Leenabanchong, 6-2, 6-1.
Three of the four Salukis - Monaghan, senior Ariadna Cairo Baza and freshman Athena Chrysanthou - played in the singles qualifying round, each winning their first round matches.
"Regionals was a great experience for us," head coach Audra Anderson said. "We faced some players that were better than us right now, but I felt like we held our own."
Monaghan was the only one to win her second match, however, allowing her to join senior Natasha Tomishima in the main draw. Tomishima faced. No. 1 seeded Viktoriya Lushkova in singles and fell 6-4, 6-1.
"Natasha did a great job. She played the No. 1 seed in the first round and that girl was phenomenal, but Natasha really did play well," Anderson said.
Each doubles pair found success in the first round of the doubles main draw, both advancing to the second round. Chrysanthou and Baza topped UMKC's Amsallem and Kurasbediani, 8-2, while No. 1 doubles pair Tomishima and Monaghan topped their opponents 8-3. Both pairs lost in the second round, closing out the Salukis' weekend.
The Salukis will go on a three-week hiatus before finishing their fall season at the Arkansas State Tournament beginning Friday, Nov. 7.
Saluki Final Results
Qualifying Bracket Singles
W: Ariadna Cairo Baza (SIU) def. Peyton Jennings (ARK) 6-2, 7-6
W: Athena Chrysanthou (SIU) def. Kelsey King (STL) 6-3, 6-3
W: Meagan Monaghan (SIU) def. Ffion Davies (SDSU) 6-0, 6-4
L: Ana Gasparovi (ISU) def. Ariadna Cairo Baza (SIU) 6-3, 6-1
L: Smith Hinton (KU) def. Athena Chrysanthou (SIU) 6-2, 6-0
W: Meagan Monaghan (SIU) def. Mia Frogner (SIUE) 6-2, 6-0
Singles Main Draw
L: Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) def. Natasha Tomishima (SIU) 6-4, 6-1
W: Meagan Monaghan (SIU) def. Tess Herder (DU) 6-1, 6-3
L: Dobby Leenabanchong (TU) def. Meagan Monaghan (SIU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles Main Draw
W: Chrysanthou/Baza (SIU) def. Amsallem/Kurasbediani (UMKC) 8-2
W: Tomishima/Monaghan (SIU) def. Aranda/Halverson (SIUE) 8-3
L: Silver/McCulloch (Iowa) def. Chrysanthou/Baza (SIU) 8-3
L: Adamovic/Babic (OSU) def. Tomishima/Monaghan (SIU) 8-0
Players Mentioned
