Blue Tennis Competes at ITA Regionals; Chen Earns First Round Win

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior Carina Chen (Hong Kong) and sophomore Justine Huang (Coto de Caza, Calif.) each advanced out of the first round in singles as Wellesley College tennis competed at the 2016 ITA Regional Championships, Presented By Oracle, on Friday at MIT.

Chen defeated junior Helen Klass-Warch (St. Paul, Minn.) of Wesleyan in her first round match, advancing to the round of 32 with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Chen then saw her day come to an end versus seeded first year Katy Hughes (Haddonfield, N.J.) of Middlebury. Hughes advanced to the round of 16 with a 6-1, 6-1 win.

Huang advanced past MIT junior Sonya Das (Arden Hills, Minn.), 3-1, when Das unfortunately had to retire due to injury. Huang made a strong bid to advance to the round of 16 for the second time in as many years in the round of 32. Williams junior Mia Gancayco (Potomac, Md.) took a close first set 7-5 before defeating Huang with a 6-3 win in the second set. 

Also in action in the singles bracket, Wellesley first year Sarah Yan (Holmdel, N.J.) was defeated by junior Haley Cohen (Cherry Hill, N.J.) of Brandeis, 6-3, 6-0.

In doubles, the Blue failed to advance out of the first round despite a great effort from Yan and senior Andjela Stojkovic (Victoria, British Columbia) in their first round match-up with Middlebury senior Alexandra Fields (Coral Gables, Fla.) and first year Skylar Schossberger (Eagle, Idaho). Yan and Stojkovic had a 7-5 edge against the Middlebury duo but would ultimately fall short in the match as Fields and Schossberger rallied for a 9-7 win.

Chen and Huang were also defeated in the first round of doubles, dropping an 8-1 final to Vickie Ip (Hong Kong) and Anya Ivenitsky (South Salem, N.Y.) of Amherst.

Blue tennis returns to New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday, September 27, when they host Wheaton at 5:00 PM.