Tennis Sees First Action of the Year at ITA Regional

LAKELAND, Fla. (September 27, 2021) - Women's tennis had four individuals and two duos participate in the ITA South Regional in Lakeland this past weekend. This is the first individual tournament that the Tars' tennis team has played in in almost two years. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Singles):

• Georgina Groth was the highest rated singles player for the Tars, earning the #14 overall seed in the 64-woman draw. In her opening round matchup, she quickly dispatched Emily Hafner of Montevallo 6-2, 6-0. Her next task was taking down Celina Ermann of Saint Leo. The contest was more tightly matched, with Groth coming away with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 win. Groth's run ended on Saturday morning in the quarter finals when Kim Moosbacher (Barry) defeated the German native 6-1, 6-2. 
• Polina Vlasova fell in her opening round matchup with Jessica Wira of Embry-Riddle. However, she was able to bounce back with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket. On Friday afternoon, she got past Jasmine Williams (Palm Beach Atlantic) with ease, 6-0, 6-2. She had a tougher test in the next round, but came away with a 1-6, 6-1, 10-3 victory over Nahia Izco (Auburn Montgomery). Vlasova's weekend then ended on Saturday afternoon with a 4-6, 3-6 loss at the hands of Mathilda Vidgren (Florida Southern), who would eventually make the consolation finals. 
• Alexandra Borg scored a first-round win over Palm Beach Atlantic's Elvira Edstrom, 6-2, 6-1 before losing in the second round to #3 seed Nataie Espinal of Nova Southeastern, 7-5, 6-3.
• Katie Groves was the final singles representative for the Tars. She earned a first round win over Delta State's Sofia Pepe 6-3, 1-0 (ret.) before falling to Raquel Amaro of Christian Brothers, 6-2, 6-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Doubles):

• Following a tremendous spring season that saw Groth and Borg ranked as the #4 doubles team in the country, as well as All-American honors, the duo earned the #1 seed for doubles competition heading into the weekend. Their first-round matchup was a quick 8-0 win over Kylie Misdorp and Ericka Chavarria of Eckerd. The next day, they found themselves moving on with a 8-2 victory over Valeria Arevalo and Heden Ly of West Alabama. However, the road to the finals was derailed in the quarterfinals when Danialle Farfan and Kim Moosbacher of Barry upset the top-seeded Tars, 8-6.
• Katie Groves and Eve Wasil fell to West Florida in their opening round match, but played tough in the consolation bracket. On Saturday morning, they defeated Adriana Subias and Sofia Pepe of Delta State, 8-7 (4). Then in the afternoon, the duo secured a 8-2 win against Eckerd's Raia Jagger and Alexis Kwasnik. Their time ended in the semi-finals on Sunday with a 8-3 loss at the hands of Itxasco Blanco and Jessica Wira from Embry-Riddle. 
  
  Next on the fall schedule is the C.L. Varner Invitational, hosted on the campus of Rollins, on Ocotber 8-10.