The women's tennis team wrapped up its fall season at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regionals on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.
At the prestigious and exclusive tournament, the Bulls had four athletes competing in the singles and doubles brackets.
"It was a first for us at UB to have that many players in the tournament," said head coach Kathy Twist. "You had to have some kind of ranking or they knew that you were a fairly decent player just to be able to get into the tournament."
Heading into such a tough weekend, Twist and her team wanted to make a good impression and represent UB.
"It's a huge tournament with huge names in tennis playing there," Twist said. "Any tournament we enter we want to win, however, we knew the competition was going to be extremely tough. We just wanted to see how far we could go in the tournament."
Even with their best efforts, Buffalo was unable to keep up in the doubles draw.
Seniors Tina Jacob and Andreea Novaceanu paired up to compete in the qualifying round. Following a bye in the opening round, Jacob and Novaceanu battled the Yale duo of Sarah Lederhandler and Jessie Rhee in a close match. Lederhandler and Rhee took the match, 8-6.
The main doubles draw saw sophomore Denise Harijanto partner with freshman Diana Popescu. Their first match was played against the top-ranked pair in the nation from William and Mary. The Bulls dropped the match to Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic by a score of 8-0.
The Bulls saw more success in the singles draw.
Novaceanu received a number 18 ranking going into the tournament. After receiving a bye in the first round, Novaceanu beat Denise Liebschner of Seton Hall in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. Moving into the next round, Novaceanu was paired against Inga Beermann of Virginia Tech. The match went to three sets as Beermann took the victory 1-6, 7-5, 6-0.
"Andreea Novaceanu had a real chance to beat the number 12 seed, Inga Beermann, but she just fell short of that," Twist said. "It was still an outstanding performance by Andreea."
Harijanto went 3-1 on the weekend as she sailed through the qualifying matches. In her first match of the tournament, Harijanto earned a win over Katherine Attwell of Boston College, 6-3, 6-2. Harijanto then earned a three-set victory when she took on Anne Haughton of Army, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.
Once she made it into the main draw, Harijanto defeated Caitlin White of Towson, 6-0, 6-0. Next Harijanto was matched up against the tenth-ranked player, Janet Kim of Yale. Harijanto fought hard, but Kim took the match, 6-4, 6-2.
Although the team did not take any titles, it was a great playing opportunity and learning experience.
"We were really pleased with the results," Twist said. "Going to this tournament and seeing the best play, we know where we fell short, what we need to work on, and also that we're going in the right direction of improving each and every day."
The ITA Regionals concluded a stellar fall season for the women, with multiple top-place finishes and individual titles. Buffalo heads into the off-season but will resume in the spring.
"We are excited about the off-season to work on our game," Twist said. "We will be ready for the spring and be even stronger by then. You'll see us play even stronger than in the fall."
The Bulls return to action in February when their spring season begins. Until that time the team will continue to work hard in order to stay competitive and be in the running for the Mid-American Conference Championship.
"We'll keep each other motivated," Twist said. "Our eye is on the championship, and we're not going to take our interests off that goal."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
