Courtesy: Haley Ames
Courtesy: Haley Ames

NAIA Women's Tennis Championships | Day One

MOBILE, Ala.- First-time qualifiers Goshen (Ind.) and Stanton (Calif.) won first-round matches Tuesday at the 45th annual UTR Sports NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship.

Also winning in the first round were Coastal Georgia, Cumberland (Tenn.), Cumberlands (Ky.), Loyola (La.), Marian (Ind.) and SCAD Atlanta (Ga.).

The top eight seeds had first-round byes. Second-round matches will begin at 1 p.m. CDT Wednesday at Copeland-Cox Mobile Tennis Center. Admission is free for all rounds; the tournament will conclude Saturday.

• Goshen (Ind.) 4, Holy Cross (Ind.) 3: Freshman Marin Kawano clinched with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory against Anna Vanderhyde at No. 5 singles. It was Kawano's third clinch in the Maple Leafs' last four victories. The Saints trailed 3-1 but tied the match at 3 when Jamison Geoffreys defeated Sara Nino 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 at No. 6. Goshen is 16-7 and the No. 14 seed, and Holy Cross, seeded 19th, finished 8-6.

• Stanton (Calif.) 4, Louisiana Christian 2: Emilse Ruiz clinched with her 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory against Elizaveta Mikhailova at No. 1 singles. Ruiz and Romy Pols clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 victory against Valeria Callejo and Raquel Rodrigues. Stanton, a second-year program, is 10-5 and the No. 20 seed. Louisiana Christian, seeded 13th and in its first nationals appearance, finished 12-7.

• Coastal Georgia 4, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 2: Gabriela Miteva won in doubles and singles to help the Mariners earn their first tournament victory. It's Coastal Georgia's first appearance since 2014. Miteva and Luna Fellon clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (7-4) victory against Carolina Guerrero and Michaela Muller. Ely Laure won in doubles and singles for the Saints. Coastal Georgia is 12-7 and the No. 17 seed, and OLLU, the No. 16 seed, finished 11-5.

• Cumberlands (Ky.) 4, Bethel (Kan.) 0: Mahiro Hara clinched for the Patriots with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Patty Huerta at No. 5. Cumberlands won in round one for the fifth consecutive time. Cumberlands is 16-5 and the No. 9 seed, and Bethel, the No. 24 seed, finished 18-4.

• SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) 4, Oakland City (Ind.) 1: Shalimar Talbi, No. 2 in the ITA/NAIA singles and doubles rankings, won twice for the Bees. Talbi and Adrianna Kluska won 6-2 against Berta Auge and Silvia Fernandez de la Pradilla, and Talbi defeated Auge 6-3, 6-3. Manuella Eloundou Nga clinched by defeating Maria Trembach 6-4, 6-1 at No. 4. SCAD Atlanta is 10-3 and the No. 12 seed, and Oakland City, the No. 21 seed, finished 16-5.

• Loyola (La.) 4, Oklahoma Wesleyan 0: 6. Avrora Volkova clinched for the Wolf Pack with a 6-3, 6-1 decision against Ashley Miller at No. 6. Avery Frierson and Adele Fereres won in doubles and singles for Loyola, which won its first match at nationals for the fourth consecutive year. Loyola is 9-7 and the No. 11 seed. Oklahoma Wesleyan, the No. 22 seed, finished 24-6.

• Marian (Ind.) 4, William Woods (Mo.) 0: Liliane Alinquant won in doubles and singles and clinched for the Knights with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Zara Littlejohn at No. 5. Marian is 17-6 and the No. 10 seed. William Woods, the No. 23 seed, finished 10-11.

• Cumberland (Tenn.) 4, Morningside (Iowa) 3: The Phoenix got victories from Asya Timur and Ame Van Eijk to erase a 3-2 deficit. Timur clinched at No. 2 by defeating Lara Heinrich 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Cumberland is 11-9 and the No. 18 seed. Morningside, the No. 15 seed, finished 26-2. The Mustangs entered with a 17-match win streak.

 

Round 2 pairings — 1 p.m. CDT

No. 1 Keiser (Fla.) (20-1) vs. No. 17 Coastal Georgia (12-7)

No. 9 Cumberlands (Ky.) (16-5) vs. No. 8 SCAD Savannah (Ga.) (8-6)

No. 4 William Carey (Miss.) (16-1) vs. No. 20 Stanton (Calif.) (10-5)

No. 12 SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) (10-3) vs. No. 5 Xavier (La.) (18-7)

No. 3 Tennessee Wesleyan (18-1) vs. No. 14 Goshen (Ind.) (16-7)

No. 11 Loyola (La.) (9-7) vs. No. 6 Southeastern (Fla.) (14-5)

No. 10 Marian (Ind.) (17-6) vs. No. 7 LSU Alexandria (La.) (9-4)

No. 18 Cumberland (Tenn.) (11-9) vs. No. 2 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (16-1)

Championship Information

NAIA Women's Tennis Championship

46th ANNUAL
WOMEN'S TENNIS

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 11-15, 2027
Mobile Tennis Center
Mobile, Ala.