ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Cleveland State women's tennis team began play at the ITA Midwest Regional Thursday, competing in the Qualifying Singles Bracket. The Vikings had three representatives competing on the first day of the tournament – Kara Sherwood, Victoria Bensimon and Princess Gbadamosi.
"We got off to a bit of a tough start today, but we ended up getting some good wins, just not in the order we wanted them," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "It was definitely a good experience for them, Kara has been here before, but Princess and Victoria were able to get their feet wet at a major tournament and hopefully that will carry over to the spring season. Everyone on the team plays the entire fall season to win matches like they played today, and unfortunately we weren't able to do that, but we still battled and preserved throughout the day."
Sherwood, Bensimon and Gbadamosi all played strong tennis in their opening round matches, but came up short against their respective opponents. After dropping their first matches of the day, the trio competed in consolation matches, with Gbadamosi and Bensimon picking up a pair of victories against opponents from Wright State. Gbadamosi earned a 7-6 (5), 6-0 victory over Tori Turner, while Bensimon posted a 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (9) win over Vanessa Madrigal.
"After our slow start, we were able to pick up some good wins in the back draw against league opponents and end on a good note," Etzkin said. "I'm proud of the way that Kara came back in her match, staying focused on playing her game, while Victoria and Princess both had solid efforts in their consolation matches."
The ITA Midwest Regional will continue tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 11), with the first and second rounds of the main doubles draw. Cleveland State will have two teams in the doubles bracket – Sherwood/Mathilde Orange and Bensimon/Gbadamosi – with action beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Singles Qualifying Draw
Meika Ashby (WMU) def. Princess Gbadamosi (CSU), 6-1, 6-1
Sephora Boulbahaeim (EIU) def. Victoria Bensimon (CSU), 6-3, 6-4
Athena Trouillot (MSU) def. Kara Sherwood (CSU), 6-4, 6-2
Singles Consolation Matches
Princess Gbadamosi (CSU) def. Tori Turner (WSU), 7-6 (5), 6-0
Ankita Bhatia (EMU) def. Kara Sherwood (CSU), 6-0, 6-7 (4), 1-0 (11)
Victoria Bensimon (CSU) def. Vanessa Madrigal (WSU), 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (9)
