EAST LANSING, Mich. (October 17, 2023) – Christina Hand and Justine Leong enjoyed a run to the doubles semifinal as the Northwestern women's tennis competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional Championships in East Lansing, Mich.
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Ranked No. 26 in the ITA Doubles Rankings, Hand and Leong, who received an opening-round bye, picked up three wins in the doubles draw, a run capped off by an 8-7 (7-5) decision over DePaul's Greta Carbone and Hanna Smith in the quarterfinal round. The pairing gave No. 4 Jaedan Brown and Kari Miller all they could handle in the semifinals, dropping a narrow 8-6 decision.
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Like their doubles counterparts, Britany Lau and Maria Shusharina also tallied a trio of wins during their stay in The Mitten State. After dispatching pairings from Michigan State and Northern Illinois, respectively, Lau and Shusharina advanced to the quarterfinals following an impressive 8-4 victory against Sydni Ratliff and Shelly Bereznyak of Ohio State.
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Elisa Van Meeteren and Sydney Pratt picked up an opening-round victory in the doubles draw, cruising past Illinois' Kida Ferrari and Alice Xu, 8-1.
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After 2-0 stints in singles qualifying play by Neena Feldman, Kiley Rabjohns, and Autumn Rabjohns, Northwestern sent nine players through to the main draw of the event.
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Hand, currently ranked No. 105 in the ITA Singles Rankings, led the attack for the Wildcats in, rattling off three consecutive victories, none bigger than a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 upset over No. 53 Page Freeman (Notre Dame) to punch her quarterfinal-round ticket. The Moorestown, N.J. native had visions of another upset in the quarterfinals when she took the first set off No. 16 Irina Cantos Siemers (Ohio State), ultimately dropping a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 decision.
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Leong and Kiley Rabjohns each picked up opening-round singles wins of their own. Leong rolled in straight sets, scoring a 6-2, 6-2 win against Shalini Tallamraju (Toledo), while Rabjohns outlasted Ohio State's Akanksha Bhan by a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 scoreline.
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LOOKING AHEAD
Northwestern wraps up the fall portion of its 2023-24 schedule at the start of November, competing at the ITA National Fall Championships, November 1-5, and the Miami Fall Invitational, November 3-5.
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Ranked No. 26 in the ITA Doubles Rankings, Hand and Leong, who received an opening-round bye, picked up three wins in the doubles draw, a run capped off by an 8-7 (7-5) decision over DePaul's Greta Carbone and Hanna Smith in the quarterfinal round. The pairing gave No. 4 Jaedan Brown and Kari Miller all they could handle in the semifinals, dropping a narrow 8-6 decision.
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Like their doubles counterparts, Britany Lau and Maria Shusharina also tallied a trio of wins during their stay in The Mitten State. After dispatching pairings from Michigan State and Northern Illinois, respectively, Lau and Shusharina advanced to the quarterfinals following an impressive 8-4 victory against Sydni Ratliff and Shelly Bereznyak of Ohio State.
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Elisa Van Meeteren and Sydney Pratt picked up an opening-round victory in the doubles draw, cruising past Illinois' Kida Ferrari and Alice Xu, 8-1.
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After 2-0 stints in singles qualifying play by Neena Feldman, Kiley Rabjohns, and Autumn Rabjohns, Northwestern sent nine players through to the main draw of the event.
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Hand, currently ranked No. 105 in the ITA Singles Rankings, led the attack for the Wildcats in, rattling off three consecutive victories, none bigger than a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 upset over No. 53 Page Freeman (Notre Dame) to punch her quarterfinal-round ticket. The Moorestown, N.J. native had visions of another upset in the quarterfinals when she took the first set off No. 16 Irina Cantos Siemers (Ohio State), ultimately dropping a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 decision.
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Leong and Kiley Rabjohns each picked up opening-round singles wins of their own. Leong rolled in straight sets, scoring a 6-2, 6-2 win against Shalini Tallamraju (Toledo), while Rabjohns outlasted Ohio State's Akanksha Bhan by a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 scoreline.
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LOOKING AHEAD
Northwestern wraps up the fall portion of its 2023-24 schedule at the start of November, competing at the ITA National Fall Championships, November 1-5, and the Miami Fall Invitational, November 3-5.