MIDDLEBURY, VT. - With two days of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's New England Regional under the belts of new and old, the Wesleyan women's tennis team is set to field two doubles pairings in the semifinal round of the doubles draw on Sunday morning with hopes of a title run in the balance at Middlebury College.
The Cardinals spent Friday and Saturday making a showing in the first fall outing under new head coach
Steph Yanosov. Yanosov previously served as the associate head coach, her promotion to head coach was announced over the summer academic break.
Fielding four doubles pairings,
Leila Epstein '26 and
Natalia Leroy '28 earned a bye through the Round of 64 along with
Sarah Youngberg '26 and
Mariia Kornilova '29.
Lara Afolayanka '29 and
Kendall Smith '29 advanced as did Lucinda Gastsiounis '28 and
Agnes Guggenheim '29.
Breaking into the Round of 16, Afolayanka and Smith, the lone freshmen tandem, defeated Bowdoin's Caroline Stuhlfaut and Cara Hung, 8-4 to reach the quarterfinal. Running another 8-4 victory, Youngberg and Kornilova put away Melanie Woodbury and Ryan Wuhrman of Tufts.
Facing MIT's Alaina Kolli and Artemis Pados, Afolayanka and Smith turned out an 8-4 win on their way to the regional semifinal round. Joining them in the semifinal will be Youngberg and Kornilova after an 8-6 defeat of Brandeis' Rebecca Suarez and Marie Reyes placed them one more step towards the finals.
Afolayanka and Smith will face a tough foe in MIT's Chloe Zeng and Carly Chen while Youngberg and Kornilova are set for Babson's Matia Cristiani and Sandra Sikharulidze.
Highlighting the Single A Draw, Epstein represented the Cardinals as a quarterfinalist. While defeated by Fiona Lee with a 1-6, 6-4, 3-6 final, Epstein cleared Reyes in the R16 with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 tally.
Doubles semifinal action begins Sunday, Sept 28, at 9 a.m.