Mikhailuk, Pitta Win ITA Southern Regional Doubles Championship

BATON ROUGE, La. – Alexandra Mikhailuk and Athina Pitta came from behind to win the doubles final of the 2023 ITA Women’s Southern Regional at the LSU Tennis Complex on Tuesday.  

Mikhailuk and Pitta faced LSU’s Kinaa Graham and Anita Sahdiieva on their home court in the final round of doubles. Graham and Sahdiieva claimed a 6-1 victory in the first set to take the lead in the match. The MSU duo bounced back in the second set with a 7-5 win and forced the match into a third set tiebreaker.

In the third set, Mikhailuk and Pitta had a dominate showing as they took match with a 10-5 victory.

Mikhailuk’s and Pitta’s appearance in the doubles final qualified the duo for a spot in the ITA Fall National Championships, which will be held from Nov. 1-5 in San, Diego, California. They are the first Bulldogs in recent MSU women’s tennis history to qualify for that tournament.

From Head Coach Chris Hooshyar

• “I’m so incredibly proud of these two, they battled hard and clearly fought. They had tough starts in both the semifinals and today, but trusted Taylor [Russo] during those times to turn both matches around. I’m proud of the girls and Taylor, as she showed great tactical and emotional awareness.”
• “This is a win for all of our girls! They are buying into Noah [Tippen], Taylor and I, and I couldn’t be more grateful! We are building a good culture here. We have Chloé [Cirotte] and Alessia [Tagliente] back in Starkville working so hard on their comeback. I see it daily, the girls see it daily and those two are making us all better!”

From Assistant Coach Taylor Russo 

• “I am so proud of the way our girls competed and found a way to find solutions when things were not going our way. It is really amazing to see the hard work that is put in daily off court, translate on court. This was a really great and special moment for our girls and this program.”

For more information on the Bulldog women’s tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for “HailStateWT” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

ITA Southern Regional

LSU Tennis Complex | Baton Rouge, La.

Oct. 10, 2023

Doubles Final

Alexandra Mikhailuk/Athina Pitta (MSU) def. Kinaa Graham/Anita Sahdileva (LSU) 1-6, 7-5, 10-5

Tournament Results

Alexandra Mikhailuk/Athina Pitta (MSU) def. Marta Torres Rodriguez (North Alabama) 8-3

Alexandra Mikhailuk/Athina…