Fordham Women’s Tennis participated in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regionals at Princeton University in New Jersey over the weekend. They have not participated in this tournament since 2019, but they found more success this weekend than their last showing.

There can be no place to start but with graduate student Valeriya Deminova, who won all three of her matches and will advance to the ITA Super Regionals at Yale University on Oct. 21. This was a very strong showing for Deminova, who last played in this tournament as a sophomore. She improved significantly upon her first performance, where she lost in 2019 in the round of 16. This time, she got over the edge and is leading the team as a crucial veteran player. 

Fordham had a few other key performances highlighted by freshman Sofie Siem and graduate student Lindsay Hung. For Siem, this is a very positive sign as a newcomer to defeat both Jimena Garbino from Hofstra University and Juliana Munhoz from the University of Pennsylvania. Eventually, she was outmatched when she fell in the round of 32 to Maria Drobotova from the United States Military Academy (Army). However, this was a productive finish. This is Siem’s strongest showing to date, and it will be interesting to see how she develops as a player as she is just scratching the surface of her young and promising collegiate career. 

The other standout this weekend was Hung. She also made it to the round of 32, having a bye in the first round and defeating Isabella Brilliant from Army in the next. She was bested in the next round, being defeated narrowly by Jamie Wei from Temple University in three games.

Unfortunately, the Rams struggled in other matches, with graduate student Carlota Casasampere Escoda, senior Avery Aude and junior Eleni Fasoula losing in the first singles matches they competed in. They did not find much more success in doubles, with their only victory coming from the Aude and Deminova team, handling Amelia Haley and Alexandra Jansen from St. Bonaventure University by a score of 8-2.

Overall, this showing was more productive than their previous entry in the ITA’s, but most of this can be chalked up to Deminova advancing. It remains to be seen what place she will finish overall, but she will hope to continue to find success at the Super Regionals. The team will get another chance to spotlight their talents when they travel to Hofstra University for the Hofstra Invitational this coming weekend on Oct. 8 and 9.