2016 ITA Mountain Regional Results | Singles Draw | Singles Back Draw | Doubles Draw
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A freshman felt right at home on day one of the 2016 ITA Mountain Regional Championships. That might be because she was playing at home. Diana Wong in her first match at home, and sophomore Ruth Copas both picked up victories to move into the round of 64 on the opening day of the tournament.
UNM as a team went 2-2 in singles, with Copas and Wong winning and Rachana Bhat and Cassie Chung dropping decisions. Ludivine Burguiere and Dominique Dulski, both seeded players, had byes and automatically moved into the round of 64, giving the Lobos four of the final 64 in the tournament.
Copas sitting in the top portion of the bracket, picked up a solid 6-4, 6-4 win over UNLV’s Cristina Moroi. Copas gets to now face the No. 9 seed in Wyoming’s Magdelena Stencel, who had a bye into the round of 64. Copas improved to 7-3 so far this Fall, leading the team with those seven wins.
Wong improved to 4-2 this Fall with her 6-3, 6-4 win over fellow Mountain West foe Adriana Gergelyova of Nevada. Much like Copas, Wong advances to take on a seeded player from Wyoming, facing Dorottya Jones, who is one of the nine 17-seeds in the tournament.
Bhat was looking for her seventh win of the Fall, but fell to BYU’s Kate Cusick 6-3, 6-2. Cassie Chung took on a 17-seed in UNLV’s Paola Artiga and lost 7-6 (7-2), 6-1.
Dulski, a 17-seed, will face off in her first match of the tournament with NAU’s Chiara Tomasetti, who won her round of 128 match 7-5, 6-4 over Weber State’s Caitlin Herb. Burguiere is the 15-seed, and she will take on Montana State’s Laura Middel, who won 6-1, 6-3 over New Mexico State’s Fanni Novak. Andrea Leblanc is the tournament’s No. 3 seed, and she will battle Chloe Goyette of Montana State, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Ana Batiri of Idaho.
Bhat and Chung move to the back draw, where Bhat will face off with Northern Colorado’s Courtney Shulte in the round of 32, and Chung will play New Mexico State’s Eli Amaudova in a round of 64 match.
In doubles, only one UNM team was in action, and that was Wong/Chung, who lost to Boise State’s Lilian Poling and Nancy Menjivar 8-6 in a tound of 64 match. UNM’s other two doubles teams of Rachana Bhat and Andrea Leblanc (No. 3 seed) and Dominique Dulski and Ludivine Burguiere (one of the No. 9 seeds) had byes and will play in the round of 32.