By: Joseph Hovey
KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State women's tennis moves into its third tournament of the fall season at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southeast Regional Championships, Oct. 8-12 in Coral Gables, Florida.
Hosted by Miami at its Neil Schiff Tennis Center, the tournament's 16-team field also includes athletes from UCF, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, FIU, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Mercer, North Florida, South Florida and Stetson.
Fourteen of the region's athletes are ranked in the ITA's Fall Singles Top 75; Georgia's six and Florida's five lead the way.
Ema Baraniakova leads KSU with a bye to the regional's main draw Round of 64, where she will face the Gators' Capucine Jauffret on Oct. 9 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The winner advances to face either Florida State's Ariana Gilbert or UCF's Jantje Tilbuerger.
Jenelle Roberts,
Maria Ivankovic and
Lucie Nouzova begin qualifying draw play on Oct. 8 at 7:45 a.m. Roberts will meet North Florida's Jessica Gunter, Ivankovic will take on FAU's Ioana Sava and Nouzova will face Tea Zivic of Mercer.
Thursday's 9:15 a.m. qualifying action includes
Terezia Baraniakova versus Georgia State's Sveva Bernardi and
Laura Nadaska versus Georgia Southern's Franziska Heinemann.
Adela Zingorova and
Irene Serrano Maestre will compete at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, with Zingorova facing Eleni Karantali of Georgia Tech and Serrano Maestre up against FIU's Viktorie Hazmukova.
Two tournaments into the fall season, the Owls are a combined 27-10 in singles play and 15-6 in doubles.
Ema Baraniakova earned Conference USA Women's Tennis September Female Athlete of the Month in recognition of her 6-0 singles start. After 3-0 showings at the Mercer Gridiron Classic Oct. 1-3,
Terezia Baraniakova and Serrano Maestre also hold 6-0 starts to their fall seasons. Roberts and Nadaska are 4-1 and 3-1, respectively, on the singles court.
In doubles, the Owls are led by the tandems of Ivankovic and Nadaska (7-0) and
Terezia Baraniakova and Serrano Maestre (5-1). Ivankovic and Nadaska won the doubles title at Mercer a week ago following wins over pairs from Abraham Baldwin College, Middle Georgia State and Western Carolina.
ITA Southeast Regionals | KSU Match Schedule
Oct. 8 | 7:45 a.m. | Qualifying Round
- Jenelle Roberts vs. Jessica Gunter (North Florida)
- Winner faces Malika Amirgalieva (FAU) at 11 a.m.
- Maria Ivankovic vs. Ioana Sava (FAU)
- Winner faces Ava Rodriguez (Georgia) at 11:30 a.m.
- Lucie Nouzova vs. Tea Zivic (Mercer)
- Winner faces Lena Hornecka (Stetson) at 12 p.m.
Oct. 8 | 9:15 a.m. | Qualifying Round
- Terezia Baraniakova vs. Sveva Bernardi (Georgia State)
- Winner faces Olivia Carneiro (Georgia Tech) at 1 p.m.
- Laura Nadaska vs. Franziska Heinemann (Georgia Southern)
- Winner faces Rishita Basireddy (Georgia Tech) at 1 p.m.
Oct. 8 | 9:30 a.m. | Qualifying Round
- Adela Zingorova vs. Eleni Karantali (Georgia Tech)
- Winner faces Zoe Lazar (South Florida) at 1 p.m.
- Irene Serrano Maestre vs. Viktorie Hazmukova (FIU)
- Winner faces Sydney Stark (North Florida)/Sabritt Dozier (Georgia Tech) at 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 9 | 1:30 p.m. | Main Draw Round of 64
- Ema Baraniakova vs. Capucine Jauffret (Florida)
- Winner faces Ariana Gilbert (Florida State)/Jantje Tilbuerger (UCF)
Oct. 9 | 3:30 p.m. | Doubles Main Draw
- Jenelle Roberts/Lucie Nouzova vs. Evelyn Warkentin/Angelina Mihajlovic (Georgia Southern)
- Winner faces Jana Hossam/Capucine Jauffret (Florida)
Oct. 9 | 4:30 p.m. | Doubles Main Draw
The Champions Fund
The Champions Fund is a newly created, 100% tax-deductible, philanthropic opportunity to contribute strategic revenue to Kennesaw State Athletics, with the goal of strengthening our ability to recruit and retain top-tier talent in this new era of collegiate athletics. Contributions to the Champions Fund will help aid in funding student-athlete recruitment and retention, as well as helping the Owls provide competitive excellence through investments in coaching, travel and facilities. The fund will also give an elevated student-athlete experience, including enhanced academic, nutrition, wellness and leadership programs. Donate to the Champions Fund here and help us support our Kennesaw State Owls.
