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Young Tartans Victorious at Kenyon College Invitational

Young Tartans Victorious at Kenyon College Invitational

(GAMBIER, Ohio) - A group of young Tartans traveled to Gambier, Ohio, for the Kenyon College Invitational on Saturday, September 14 and Sunday, September 15 showing the depth of the Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team.

Freshman Lauren James (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / Pine Crest School) won Flight A after defeating Daria Beshentseva of Kenyon, 6-2, 6-1, in the first round, Madeleine Paolucci of Case Western Reserve University, 7-6, 6-3, in the semifinals, and then Trisha Sundaram of Case Western Reserve, 6-0, 6-1, in the final.

Sophomore Lindy Cornwall (Poway, Calif. / Poway) and freshman Madeline Fidel (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) each reached the final of Flight B but did not face each other for the flight title. Cornwall started with a three-set victory against Nicole Cardwell of Case Western Reserve, 6-7, 6-0, 10-5, before topping Ilana Blackwood of Kenyon, 6-4, 6-2. Fidel had a pair of straight set wins with a 6-1, 6-4 score against Sarah Robertson of Denison University and a 6-1, 6-2 win against Savannah Bright of Case Western Reserve.

Sophomore Ola Wojciak (Holmdel, N.J. / Holmdel) reached the finals of Flight C, winning twice in three sets. Junior Alex Iordache (Princeton, N.J. / South Brunswick) placed fifth in the same flight winning twice in two sets after falling in three sets in the opening round.

Freshman Bin Zheng (Miami, Fla. / Doral Academy) was 1-2 in Flight A with a first round 6-2, 7-5 win against Alex Cash of Denison. Her semifinal match went three sets against Sundaram while she fell 7-5, 7-6 in the third-place match to Paolucci.

In doubles action, Cornwall and Zheng finished first in flight A with an 8-6 win against Paolucci and Bright of Case Western Reserve in the opening round and an 8-5 win in the final against Beshentseva and Erika Oku of Kenyon.

Iordache and Fidel paired for an 8-2 victory against Sydney Cianciola and Robertson of Denison before falling 8-3 in the finals to Cardwell and Sundaram.

James and Wojciak fell in a tight 8-7 match to Monique Brual and Izzy Hart of Denison before winning 8-7 against Sofia Alonso and Kayla Pukys of Kenyon.

The Tartans will next compete at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southeast Regional Tournament on Saturday, September 21 through Monday, September 23 at the University of Mary Washington.