BATON ROUGE, La. – Mississippi State women’s tennis team picked up a trio of singles victories on day two of the ITA Southern Regional.
Maria Rizzolo earned the first win of the day for the Bulldogs. Rizzolo claimed her second win of the fall with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Maria Guirguis of Troy.
Alexandra Mikhailuk grabbed a second win for State with her 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory against Tjasa Klevisar of Northwestern State.
Dharani Niroshan took on Zenn Lim of Southern Mississippi and claimed a 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-5 victory.
Rizzolo will move on to second round to face Reka Zadori of Ole Miss on Saturday at 9 a.m. CT., along with Mikhailuk who will face Briana Crowley of Ole Miss at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Niroshan will take on Florentine Dekkers of LSU on Saturday 9 a.m.
Athina Pitta fell to Arina Gamretkaia of McNeese State 6-1, 6-3, while Ole Miss’s Andrea Nova was up 6-1, 4-0 before Ava Rath retired.
“Today was a disappointing day for all of us. We want to pride ourselves on the way we compete, and after reflecting as a group tonight we know we didn’t do that! We didn’t focus on the solutions to the problem, we felt sorry for ourselves! Even though three of us are moving on, we didn’t meet the definition of success we have set for ourselves! We can’t focus on the outcome; we have to focus on being in the battle and to have trust in ourselves. It’s my job now to make sure we all learn from today’s mistakes and turn it into a valuable day for our progressions. We have a great group of young women and I know they will!”
Doubles is slated to begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Niroshan and Clemens taking on Briana Crowley and Ava Hrastar of Ole Miss. Rath and Rizzolo will face Nikola Novotna and Delien Kleinhans of South Alabama. Mikhailuk and Pitta will be paired together, with their opponents announced after doubles qualifying finishes.
ITA Southern Regional
LSU Tennis Complex | Baton Rouge, La.
Oct. 6, 2023
Singles Consolation
Valeria San Miguel (North Alabama) def. Ava Rath (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 10-7
Singles Main Draw
Maria Rizzolo (MSU) def. Maria Guirguis (Troy) 6-4, 6-2
Andrea Nova (Ole Miss) vs. Jayna Clemens (MSU) 6-1, 4-0 ret.
Dharani Niroshan (MSU) def. Zenn Lim (Southern Mississippi) 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-5
Arina…
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