Ncube Wins Draw At ITA Regionals

Thursday, October 24

Winston-Salem, N.C.

East Carolina University

ITA Carolina Regional

Photo by: Rob Taylor

October 28, 2019 | Women's Tennis

NC Central Invite Results ITA Regional Results

Winston-Salem, N.C. – A pair of Pirates advancing through the qualifying draw along with winning a trophy were the highlights for the ECU women's tennis team at the ITA Carolina Regional Championships at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.

"I thought it was a good weekend for us," said head coach Tom Morris. "We played very well at the regionals in singles and had some tough draws in doubles. At NC Central, we had two players advance to finals in their flights. We saw again some things that we need to work on in individual singles and in doubles. Overall, it was a very good weekend for our program."

The Pirates had a chance to put three players into the main singles draw at the Regional Championships, but needed Nastja Rettich and Sibel Tanik to each win a pair of matches to advance out of the qualifying draw. Each player had to battle through three-set matches to open the tournament, but both Rettich and Tanik started the weekend 2-0 to reach the main 64-player draw, joining Lisa Hofbauer.

Rettich continued her strong play, topping UNC Wilmington's Celeste Matute to advance to the Round of 32 before her run came to an end with a loss to Wake Forest's Carolyn Campara.

Despite starting the weekend in the B1 draw, Michelle Ncube had the most successful weekend of any Pirate. Ncube did not drop a single set over her first three matches, defeating opponents from Western Carolina, Elon and NC State to reach the semifinal. In the pentultimate match, Ncube split the first two sets with Appalachian State's Maria Zacharias, but hung on to win the third and final set to advance to the final.

In the draw final, Ncube fell behind Wofford's Elizabeth Massie after dropping the first set, but recovered to win the second. The last set was tied at 5-5 before Ncube won the final two games to earn her first title as a Pirate.

The ITA Regional Championships was not the only tournament of the weekend for ECU. The team also competed at the NC Central Invitational.

In Durham, Hanna Axelsson nearly added a second flight title for the Pirates. The freshman beat UNCW's Anna Daniels and Davidson's Nicole Krykanov to reach her flight's final. However, the run came to an end when Axelsson fell in a tightly contested three-set match against Davidson's Emma Heiderscheit.

Along with Axelsson, Minette Van Vreden and Hsia Ho Chiao each went 1-1 in singles play. Van Vreden and Axelsson formed a doubles duo and went 1-1 together as did the pairing of Chiao and Victoria Dixon.

ECU will finish its season with the ECU Invitational. Play will get started on Friday, Nov. 8 with the Pirates hosting opponents at the River Birch Tennis Complex.

ITA Carolina Regional Results
Singles Results
Qualifying Draw
Nastja Rettich (ECU) def. Olivia Archer (Elon) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
Nastja Rettich (ECU) def. Sydney Riley (Clemson) 6-1, 6-2
Sibel Tanik (ECU) def. Victoria Saldh (Elon) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Sibel Tanik (ECU) def. Maggie Pate (Furman) 6-2, 6-3

Round of 64
Peyton Pesavento (Wake Forest) def. Lisa Hofbauer (ECU) 6-3, 6-2
Nastja Rettich (ECU) def. Celeste Matute (UNC Wilmington) 5-7, 7-5, 6-1
Cassie Mclay (Appalachian State) def. Sibel Tanik (ECU) 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1

Round of 32
Carolyn Campana (Wake Forest) def. Nastja Rettich (ECU) 6-3, 6-1

Consolation Round of 32
Silvia Chinellato (South Carolina) def. Lisa Hofbauer (ECU) 6-7 (5), 6-4, 1-0 (10-4)
Elizabeth Truluck (Davidson) def. Sibel Tanik (ECU) 6-4, 6-4

B1 Draw Round of 32
Michelle Ncube (ECU) def. Emily Elliott (Western Carolina) 6-3, 6-0

B1 Draw Round of 16
Michelle Ncube (ECU) def. Yun Shiau (Elon) 6-0, 6-2

B1 Draw Quarterfinal
Michelle Ncube (ECU) def. Dylan Cannon (NC State) 6-3, 6-4

B1 Draw Semifinal
Michelle Ncube (ECU) def. Maria Zacarias (Appalachian State) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

B1 Draw Final
Michelle Ncube (ECU) def. Elizabeth Massie (Wofford) 3-6, 6-4, 7-5

Doubles Results
Round of 64
Michelle Ncube/Nastja Rettich (ECU) def. Sofia Edo/Victoria Saldh (Elon) 8-3
Anna Brylin/Sabhyata Nihalani (Wake Forest) def. Lisa Hofbauer/Sibel Tanik (ECU) 8-3

Round of 32
Mary Meredith/Eliza Omirou (Wake Forest) def. Michelle Ncube/Nastja Rettich (ECU) 8-6

NC Central Invitational Results
Singles Results
Maroon Flight Quarterfinals
Hsia Ho Chiao (ECU) def. Mira Gladstone (Davidson) 6-3, 6-4

Maroon Flight Semifinals
Minette Van Vreden (ECU) def. Annie Gupta (UNCW) 6-4, 6-1
Rachel Marthinsen (UNCW) def. Hsia Ho Chiao (ECU) 6-4, 6-0

Maroon Flight Final
Rachel Marthinsen (UNCW) def. Minette Van Vreden (ECU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4

Gray Flight Quarterfinals
Hanna Axelsson (ECU) def. Anna Daniels (UNCW) 6-2, 6-0

Gray Flight Semifinals
Hanna Axelsson (ECU) def. Nicole Krykanov (Davidson) 6-1, 6-1

Gray Flight Final
Emma Heiderscheit (Davidson) def. Hanna Axelsson (ECU) 6-3, 0-6, 7-5

Eagle Flight Quarterfinals
Franny Shea (Davidson) def. Victoria Dixon (ECU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

Durham Flight Quarterfinals
Sofia Anthony (ECU) def. Ameer Robertson (NC A&T) 7-5, 6-0

Durham Flight Semifinals
Essence Martins (Campbell) def. Sofia Anthony (ECU) 6-4, 6-1

Consolation Draw
Victoria Dixon (ECU) def. Marlene Estenssoro (NC A&T) 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-6)
Lucile Pons (Campbell) def. Victoria Dixon (ECU) 6-3, 6-3
Ivana Dragovic (NC Central) def. Sofia Anthony (ECU) 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)

Doubles Results
Maroon Flight Quarterfinals
Minette Van Vreden/Hanna Axelsson (ECU) def. Sarah Horn/Anna Daniels (UNCW) 6-3
Hsia Ho Chiao/Victoria Dixon (ECU) def. Sofia Miller/Hannah Gaines (NC Central) 6-3

Maroon Flight Semifinals
Nicole Krykanov/Josei Schaffer (Davidson) def. Minette Van Vreden/Hanna Axelsson (ECU) 6-1
Rachel Marthinsen/Annie Gupta (UNCW) def. Hsia Ho Chiao/Victoria Dixon (ECU) 6-4

Gray Flight Semifinals
Polina Sakharova/Ivana Dragovic (NC Central) def. Franny Shea (Davidson)/Sofia Anthony (ECU) 6-3

Consolation
Lea Dubois-Rebiere (UNCW)/Sofia Anthony (ECU) def. Mira Gladstone/Emma Heiderscheit (Davidson) 6-2