ST. PETER, Minn. --- The Hamline University women's tennis team turned in the best two-day performance in program history this weekend, splitting time between the ITA Regional in St. Peter and the Gustie Invitational (with Day Two action shifted to BLS Lifetime due to rain). The Pipers finished the event 11-11 overall, a program-best result.
Day One: ITA Regional (2-3)
Senior Vanessa Pham opened the tournament with a statement win, cruising past Kate Jonas of UW-Superior 6-0, 6-3, before falling in the second round to Coe's Aisha Gurung, 6-2, 6-1. Elanna Kohner dropped her opening match to UW-Superior's Claudia Curtis, 6-1, 6-2.
In doubles, the Pham/Kohner tandem delivered the highlight of the day, knocking off ninth-seeded Mrdovic/Mrdovic of St. Olaf, 8-3, before falling in the next round to MSOE's Clara/Dakay by the same score.
Day One: Gustie Invitational (9-5)
The Pipers put together a strong overall showing at the Gustie Invite, headlined by a gutsy run from first-year Erin Tschida. Tschida won her first two matches — over Renata Sosa of St. Scholastica (5-3, 5-4(3)) and Macy Hass of UW-La Crosse (4-0, 4-0) — before facing St. Norbert's Anna Vechart in round three. In one of the gutsiest performances of the season, Tschida saved four match points to escape with a 4-1, 2-4, 1-0(9) win.
Shayla Draper and Emily Dreger also picked up first-round singles victories, with Draper defeating Katelyn de Guzman of Concordia-Wisconsin (4-0, 4-1) and Dreger topping MSOE's Stephania Gonzalez (4-2, 4-1), before both fell in the second round to UW-River Falls and Cornell College, respectively.
Anya Sugden added a singles win over St. Norbert's Molly Merrill (4-2, 4-1) before bowing out to Gustavus Adolphus' Anna Key. Taylor Copeland and Elizabeth Hernandez each dropped tight first-round matches, with Copeland falling 1-0(7) in a third-set tiebreak to Gustavus' Annie Klemmensen.
Doubles play was a bright spot for the Pipers, as Hernandez/Sugden topped Jacobsen/Burrows of MacMurray 8-6, and Tschida/Copeland knocked off Coe's Rozeboom/Miller 8-4. The Draper/Dreger pairing fell to CSB's Maroh/Yahn, 8-3.
Day Two: Gustie Invitational, Rain Site (0-3)
Rain forced Day Two to BLS Lifetime, where the Pipers ran into tough competition in the later rounds. Tschida reached the singles final in her draw before falling to Carthage's Valentina Huesca, 6-3, 7-6(3) — a strong run to close out an outstanding weekend debut for the first-year. In doubles quarterfinal action, Hernandez/Sugden fell to St. Norbert's Vechart/Multhaf 8-6, and Tschida/Copeland were edged by Carthage's Miller/Huesca, 8-4.
Despite the tough finish on Day Two, the Pipers' overall 11-11 mark across the ITA Regional and Gustie Invitational stands as the best showing in program history — a testament to the depth the team showed across singles and doubles play, and especially to Tschida's clutch performance as a first-year, saving four match points en route to her third-round win.
