USTA/ITA Regionals Up Next for Women's Tennis
10/16/2014 1:22:00 PM | Women's Tennis
NEW YORK – Six members of the Columbia women's tennis team head to New Haven, Connecticut, for a critical fall schedule event, the United States Tennis Association (USTA)/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regional Championships. The top collegiate talent in the Northeast will take the court on Yale's indoor venue, the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center. Singles qualifying action kicks-off the vent on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 4 p.m., with action continuing through to Tuesday, Oct. 21.
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#USTAITARegionals
To follow the action at the regional event, fans are encouraged to use the official hashtag #USTAITARegioanls to see content from participating schools, coaches, student-athletes and the ITA.
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Scene Setter
Competition is set to begin Thursday, Oct. 16 with qualifying singles matches, while main draw action is slated for Friday, Oct. 17 through Tuesday, Oct. 21.
USTA/ITA Regionals
This will be one of 24 USTA/ITA Regional Championships for NCAA Division I men and women taking place over the middle two weekends of October at campuses throughout the country.
What's at Stake
Players are competing for an automatic entry into the 2014 USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships Nov. 6-9 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. Singles and doubles champions will each receive a berth.
Selections
For a complete list of the 120 competitors representing 38 colleges, click here.
Singles Main Draw
The main draw will feature a singles draw of 128 and a doubles draw of 64. In singles, 80 players will compete with 24 receiving byes for the first round.
Columbia will be represented in the singles main draw by senior Crystal Leung, junior Kanika Vaidya, sophomore Tina Jiang and first-years Rima Asatrian and Alexandra Solovyev. Rookie Adi Milstein will vie for a spot in the main draw through the qualifying draw.
Doubles
Two Columbia pairs will take the doubles court in Tina Jiang and Crystal Leung and Kanika Vaidya and Rima Asatrian.
To Be the Best You Have to Beat the Best
Singles Ranked Competitors
| Name Kanika Vaidya Tina Jiang Dayna Lord |
School Columbia Columbia Brown |
Rank 85 102 108 |
Doubles Ranked Competitors
| Team Jiang/Leung Wacnik/Borr Vaidya/Asatrian |
School Columbia Boston College Columbia |
Rank 19 21 41 |
Rapid Rewind
Last year's regional, which was hosted by Harvard at the Murr Tennis Center, was all Columbia blue as the Lions captured the singles and doubles titles. Columbia dominated the Northeast region by advancing an all-Columbia final round in both singles and doubles.
More Reading: Women's Tennis Captures Singles and Doubles Titles at ITA Northeast Regional
Rank and File
Columbia received national recognition by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in the preseason rankings as four Lions were recognized. Kanika Vaidya comes in at No. 85, while Tina Jiang sits No. 102. On the doubles court, two Columbia tandems made the 60-pair list. Jiang and Crystal Leung were picked No. 19 and Vaidya and Rima Asatrian land at No. 41.
More Reading: Women's Tennis Receives ITA Rankings, All-America Championships Selections
Last Time Out
The Lions doubles teams put on impressive showings as the Columbia women's tennis team continued its fall slate at the Princeton Invitational at the Tigers' Lenz Tennis Courts in Princeton, New Jersey, Oct. 2-5.
More Reading: Women's Tennis Competes at Princeton Invitational
Hall of Famer
Columbia women's tennis will see its former standout Milena Koachar '07CC inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame this October. The four-time All-Ivy League honoree remains the only Lion to be named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, earning the accolade in 2004 after going 5-2 against the Ancient Eight with a 13-5 overall record.
More Reading: Hall of Fame Series: Women's Tennis' Milena Kachar '07CC
What's Next
The Lions will head south for the ESPN/Florida State Invitational Friday, Oct. 31 through Sunday, Nov. 2.
