The University of Redlands women's tennis team competed in the 2016 Fall ITA Regional Tournament over the weekend in Claremont. While taking on quality, in-region foes, the Bulldogs put together a solid showing in singles and doubles.
Freshman Sarah Ikioka (Pukalani, HI) advanced to the round of 32 of the main singles draw by defeating Chapman University's Raven Hampton, 6-1, 6-1, before punching her ticket to the round of 16 with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Caltech's Alexandra Bondrova. She battled against Claremont-Mudd-Scripp Colleges' Lindsay Brown but came up short in a 6-0, 7-5 decision.
After suffering first-round losses, sophomore Kate Dolan (St. Louis, MO) and freshman Jackie Lacy (Palm Desert, CA) bounced back with strong performances in the women's consolation bracket. Following a bye, Dolan moved on to the quarterfinal by defeating Sophia Chen of Caltech, 6-0, 6-2. While leading 6-1, she advanced to the semifinal when her opponent retired due to injury, but fell in that round to Caltech's Kana Morivama, 6-1, 6-0.
Lacy's path to the semifinal of the consolation bracket was very similar to Dolan's, as she also enjoyed a first-round bye. Her second-round match against Cal Lutheran University's Annette Sousa resulted in a 6-3, 6-1 victory, which set her up against Occidental College's Maxine Krygier. Lacy put together a 4-6, 6-1, 10-4 comeback-win to punch her ticket to the semifinal. Against Mallory Roth of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Lacy came up just short in a long 6-2, 4-6, 10-8 showdown.
Highlighting the doubles, Ikioka and freshman Shawnea Pagat (Hawi, HI) teamed up for a quarterfinal appearance of the main draw. After advancing on a walkover, the duo eked out a 9-7 victory over CMS' Anastasia Bryan-Ajania and Madison Shea, before falling to Brown and Nicole Tan of CMS by a score of 8-4. In addition, sophomore Elizabeth Johnson (Portland, OR) and senior Emily Murnin (Salt Lake City, UT) combined forces for a quarterfinal showing. Following a first-round bye, they defeated Cal Lutheran's Shelby Kubota and Sousa by a score of 8-2, before exiting the draw on an 8-4 loss in the semifinal.
The Bulldogs look forward to the spring portion of their season, beginning with a non-conference bout at UC San Diego on Saturday, February 4, at 11 a.m.
