Four Falcons To Compete for Singles Titles at WSU Invitational

Friday, September 29

Dayton, OH

All Day

Bowling Green State University

WSU Invitational

September 29, 2017 | Women's Tennis

By: Jenna Jorgensen (Assistant Director of Athletic Communications)

DAYTON, Ohio – After the first day of the Wright State Invitational, the Bowling Green tennis program will have four players in the finals of singles competition, in addition to three doubles pairings in tomorrow's semifinals. In Friday's competition, the Falcons earned 12 total wins to advance through the brackets.

Day One Highlights

In addition to 12 total wins on the day, five of the seven Falcons in competition went undefeated on the day.
In No. 1 Singles, junior Paula Comella swept both of her matchups, as she defeated Marlys Bridgham (Dayton) by marks of 6-2, 6-1 to open competition. A native of Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain, Comella carried the momentum to the semifinals as she earned a win over Maria Koo (NKU), 6-2, 7-6(2) to advance to tomorrow's finals.
By coming back in the semifinals, sophomore Ayumi Sasaki will compete in tomorrow's finals of No. 2 Singles. Sasaki first defeated Luisa Pelayo (Wright State) by scores of 6-2, 6-3, before facing IUPUI's Kristina Tinsley. After dropping the first set 3-6, Sasaki rebounded to claim the second set by a dominate score of 6-0 followed by the tie-breaker by a 14-12 mark.
A pair of Falcons went undefeated in today's No. 3 Singles play, as Vanesa Pardo and freshman Marta Bettinelli both advanced to the title match. Pardo defeated Madison Riley (Wright State) by scores of 6-4, 6-3, prior to downing Lucia Zagar (YSU) 6-1, 6-2.
A native of Milan Italy, Bettinelli first defeated Natalie Allen (Dayton), 6-3, 6-4 before battling for a victory in the semifinals. As she faced Taylor Culbertson (NKU), Bettinelli rebounded from a first set loss of 5-7, to claim the second 6-2 and the tie-breaker by a 12-10 mark.

Tomorrow's Tournament Action to Keep an Eye On

Junior Paula Comella will compete in the finals of the No. 1 Singles Draw against Valeriia Lavrenchuk of IUPUI, who advanced with wins over Noelly Nsimba (YSU) by scores of 6-4, 7-6(4) and Jillian Milano (WSU) by scores of 7-6(2), 6-2.
By coming back in the semifinals, sophomore Ayumi Sasaki will appear in the finals of No. 2 Singles against Jade Kawamoto (Dayton). Kawamoto advanced to the finals after defeating Imaan Hassim (YSU) by scores of 4-6, 6-2, 13-11, followed with 6-1, 6-3 wins over Luisa Echeverry (Akron).
In the finals of No. 3 Singles will be a pair of Falcons, as Vanesa Pardo faces off against teammate Marta Bettinelli for the title.
Freshman Sidney Reineke will compete for third place in No. 5 Singles as she takes on Mid-American Conference foe Waverly Witusku (Akron). Wituski first advanced with a bye, but then fell by scores of 6-1, 7-5 to Anna Delaney (Dayton) to result in the third place bracket.
Sophomore Marharita-Sophia Tavpash will compete in the consolation finals of No. 2 Singles against Luisa Pelayo (Wright State). Pelayo first fell to the Falcons' Ayumi Sasaki, then defeated Mattea Kilstofte (Dayton) by 2-6, 7-5, ret.
In doubles action, both Paula Comella/Marta Bettinelli and Ayumi Sasaki/Polina Radeva advanced in the No. 1 Singles draw, and will compete in tomorrow's semifinals. Comella/Bettinelli will face off against Bridgham/Kawamoto of Dayton, while Sasaki/Radeva will take on Nsimba/Teufl of Youngstown State.
In the No. 2 Doubles flight, Vanesa Pardo and Marharita Tavpash will team up against Jones/Reynolds of Wright State in the semifinals. If they advance, they will face Pelayo/Whitney of Wright State in the championship.
In a round robin flight of No. 3 Doubles, freshman Sidney Reineke will pair up with Flores (Akron) to face Pleiman/Delaney (Dayton) and Trinkle/Mayer (IUPUI).

WSU Invitational Day One Results
Singles
No. 1 Singles
Polina Radeva
lost to Jillian Milano (Wright State), 7-6(4), 6-3
lost to Noelly Nsimba (YSU), 6-2, 5-7, 10-8

Paula Comella
def. Marlys Bridgham (Dayton), 6-2, 6-1
def. Maria Koo (NKU), 6-2, 7-6(2)

No. 2 Singles
Ayumi Sasaki
def. Luisa Pelayo (Wright State), 6-2, 6-3
def. Kristina Tinsley (IUPUI), 3-6, 6-0, 14-12

Marharita-Sophia Tavpash
lost to Luisa Echeverry (Akron)
def. Imaan Hassim (YSU), 6-2, 6-0

No. 3 Singles
Vanesa Pardo
def. Madison Riley (Wright State), 6-4, 6-3
def. Lucia Zagar (YSU), 6-1, 6-2

Marta Bettinelli
def. Natalie Allen (Dayton), 6-3, 6-4
def. Taylor Culbertson (NKU), 5-7, 6-2, 12-10

No. 5 Singles
Sidney Reineke
advanced on a bye
lost to Anna Jones (Wright State), 6-2, 6-7(6), 10-6

Doubles
No. 1 Doubles
Paula Comella / Marta Bettinelli
def. Sunjic / Culbertson (NKU), 6-2

Ayumi Sasaki / Polina Radeva
def. Lavrenchuk / Tinsley (IUPUI), 7-6(3)

No. 2 Doubles
Vanesa Pardo / Marharita-Sophia Tavpash
def. Koo / Power (NKU), 6-2

No. 3 Doubles Round Robin
Sidney Reineke / Flores (Akron)
lost to Watton / Defiglio (NKU), 6-2