Full Hampton Roads Invite Results
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Norfolk State women's tennis team ran into some demanding competition at the Hampton Roads Invitational this weekend, with schools such as Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Temple, Army and Navy, to name a few, all competing at the large event.
The team started play Friday with the doubles rounds, followed by singles play Saturday and Sunday at Huntington Park in Newport News.
Junior Naeemah Brooks won her round of 16 match with Meredith Willett in the 'B2' bracket, as Brooks earned a 6-3, 6-1 victory over her Virginia Wesleyan opponent. Brooks could not hold an early lead against Alex Sebia of Georgetown in the quarterfinals, with Sebia coming from behind to earn a 3-6, 6-0, (7-4) win.
Freshman Gabriella Jonsson competed in the 'A2' singles bracket, where she dropped a 6-2, 6-0 decision to Daria Yakauleva of Virginia Commonwealth, 6-2, 6-0, in the round of 16. Jonsson rebounded in her round 1 consolation match, knocking off Pittsburgh's Gabi Catanzariti, 8-6.
Sophomore Rebecca Graff had a mixed weekend, as she fell to Patty Vollmer of Army in the round of 16 in the 'D1' singles bracket before rebounding with an 8-6 victory over Navy's Cassie Kovac in the first round of the consolation bracket.
Jonsson and senior Jennifer Astbury won their 'B2' doubles bracket quarterfinals match against Scarlett Hoy and Joy Johnson of Loyola, 8-5, but could not overcome to Works and Katelyn Stokes of Howard in the semifinals, 8-6. In the consolation semifinals, Astbury and Jonsson were unable to recover in an 8-3 loss to Alicia Doms and Yana Mavrina of Temple.
Brooks and Graff met up with a familiar foe in the 'C2' doubles bracket, as they fell to freshman teammate Maryna Kariuk and Delaware's Kelly Domingo, 8-3, in the quarterfinals. Kariuk and Domingo went on to drop an 8-1 decision to Temple's Christine Clermont and Mellana Cramer in the semifinals, and then suffered an 8-3 loss to Madeline Jaeger and Ally Landers of Georgetown in the consolation semifinals.
Following the loss, Brooks and Graff moved to the consolation quarterfinals, where they also found themselves on the wrong end of a 8-3 loss to Sabrina Fedele and Andie Keyser-Baker of Loyola.
Junior Ashley Foster and senior Chenge Tsapayi were not as fortunate in the 'D1' doubles bracket, dropping an 8-3 decision to Amanda Halstrom and Olivia Heim of Delaware in the quarterfinals before losing to Army's Morgan Kiser and Kari Pope, 8-4, in the consolation bracket.
Astbury competed in the 'B1' singles bracket, where she suffered a 6-3, 6-1 loss to Brittney Morgan of Howard in the round of 16 and an 8-2 loss to Larraine Saavedra of Army in the first round of the consolation bracket.
The same fate awaited Tsapayi in the 'C2' bracket, as Tsapayi lost to Michelle Nguyen of James Madison, 6-0, 6-0, in the round of 16 and Howard's Alyssa Works, 8-3, in the first round of the consolation bracket.
In the 'D2' singles bracket, Kariuk and Foster both dropped a pair. Kariuk fell to Howard's Amber Cuff, 6-2, 6-2, in the round of 16 and then to Haley Adams of Navy in the first round of the consolation bracket, 8-5. Foster, who had a bye in the round of 16, lost to Kennesaw State's Tess Lagerkvist, 6-0, 6-0, in the quarterfinals and then to Julia Zook of Navy, 8-2, in the consolation quarterfinals.
The women's team will be back on the road this weekend at the UNCG Doubles Invitational in Greensboro, N.C.
