NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State's
Julia Daroszewska will represent the Spartans and the MEAC at the ITA Conference Masters Championships, Nov. 5–8 at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga.
Daroszewska earned her place by winning the women's singles title at the MEAC Tennis Invitational, Oct. 2–4 in Cary, N.C. She will be Norfolk State's lone representative in Rome.
The stakes are high. The ITA Conference Masters field brings together one singles player and one doubles team from each NCAA Division I automatic-qualifying conference. The four singles semifinalists earn spots in the NCAA Singles Championship, Nov. 17–22 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Daroszewska opens play Thursday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. against No. 3 seed Xin Tong Wang of Wichita State in the Round of 32. A win would put her in Friday's Round of 16 against the winner of DePaul's Sasha Sakura Stula and FIU's Sofia Fernandez Figueras.
Road to Rome
Daroszewska entered the MEAC tournament unseeded and beat three seeded players on the way to the title. She opened with a comeback against Howard's Franchesca Brown, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4).
In the quarterfinals she beat Morgan State's No. 3 seed Tyler Williams, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. She then knocked off top seed Pimmada Thongkum of South Carolina State, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
In the final, she outlasted No. 2 seed Michaela Stephens of Morgan State, 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 7-6 (9-7). Three of her five matches at the tournament went the distance.
She also reached the doubles semifinals with teammate
Yuliya Yurkova.
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"We are extremely proud of Julia and what she has accomplished," head coach
Peter Banas said. "Winning the MEAC individual championship earned her the opportunity to represent Norfolk State University at the ITA Conference Masters Championships. This is a testament to her hard work, dedication and competitive spirit throughout the season. We are excited to see her compete against some of the best players in collegiate tennis and represent NSU and the MEAC on this stage."
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