CINCINNATI - The Middle Tennessee women's tennis team had a successful opening day at the ITA Ohio Valley Regionals as three Blue Raiders went undefeated in singles action to advance to the main draw.
"I am thrilled that at the completion of day one, we had three of our four girls qualify into main draw singles which starts tomorrow," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "All three did a really good job of playing steady tennis. We moved well, we fought hard and most importantly, we played smart tennis."
Marietta Bigus posted a 2-0 mark as she knocked off ETSU's Karina Kedzo 6-4, 6-4 before defeating Sydnee Bridger of Miami (Ohio) 6-0, 6-2.
Taylor Coffey also won her two contests, handing a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Memphis' Kelly Grey and tallying a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over No. 3 seed Louise Noe of Louisville.
Carla Nava was the other MT player to earn a pair of wins. She posted a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Xavier's Kaitlyn Zinn and a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Jessica Wise of Cincinnati.
Alex Dachos was the only other Blue Raider to compete in singles action Thursday.
In doubles action, the Middle Tennessee tandem of Natalie Araya and Bigus registered an 8-3 win against Memphis' Amanda Brown and Dara Toulch.
Other Blue Raider duos in action were Coffey and Anna Djananova and Nava and Yuiri Nomoto.
"We had Anna and Taylor play for the first time together and they lost a hard-fought match. Natalie and Marietta played for the first time together also. Carla and Yuiri had chances in their match, but a slow start against a good team is hard to come back from. I look forward to tomorrow's main draw start."
The four-day tournament featuring the best players in the region will continue through Sunday.
Middle Tennessee Women's Tennis Results:
Singles Qualifier (Round of 32):
Carla Nava (MT) def. Kaitlyn Zinn (XAV) 6-2, 6-1
Taylor Coffey (MT) def. Kelly Grey (MEM) 6-3, 6-4
Marietta Bigus (MT) def. Karina Kedzo (ETSU) 6-4, 6-4
Caitlyn O'Gara (CIN) def. Alex Dachos (MT) 6-1, 6-4
Singles Qualifier (Round of 16):
Carla Nava (MT) def. Jessica Wise (CIN) 6-3, 6-2
Taylor Coffey (MT) def. No. 3 Louise Noe (UofL) 6-3, 6-2
Marietta Bigus (MT) def. Sydnee Bridger (MIA) 6-0, 6-2
Open Doubles (Round of 64):
Anna Dushkina/Remi Martin (PUR) def. Carla Nava/Yuiri Nomoto (MT) 8-5
Open Doubles (Round of 32):
Marietta Bigus/Natalie Araya (MT) def. Amanda Brown/Dara Toulch (MEM) 8-3
Hannah Blatt/Catherine Newman (VAN) def. Taylor Coffey/Anna Djananova (MT) 8-6
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