GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan - The Walsh women's tennis team competed at the ITA Midwest Regional, hosted by Davenport University over the weekend.
Six different Cavaliers participated in the three-day event that ended up being cut short due to weather on the final day.
A Singles Draw
Three ladies entered into the A singles draw with Mercedes Fernandez as the 13th seed.
Fernandez defeated Carolina Yepez (Purdue Northwest) 6-2, 6-3 in her opening match before she was defeated by Khadija Da-Silva (Wayne State) 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the round of 32.
Maria Kacalova handled her first round opponent, Lena van Bergen (Purdue Northwest) 6-1, 6-1. In her next match, she fell to Viktoriya Zheleva (Drury) 6-3, 6-3.
Nicole Beidacki battled back from a first round loss to the eventual champion, Nikol Alekseeva (UIndy) 6-0, 6-2 to make a run through the consolation draw. She was victorious over Taylor McLaughlin (Saginaw Valley State) 7-5, 7-6 and followed that up with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Olivia Kjaer (Purdue Northwest) in the round of 16 draw. She won her third straight match 6-4, 6-2 over Danica Malan (Davenport). The rest of the consolation draw was abandoned on the final day.
B Singles Draw
Clara Drasch was the fourth seed in the B singles draw as Kyleigh Henthorn and Sofia Khairutdinova joined her in the bracket. Drasch fell 6-3, 6-4 in her opening bout against Kseniia Eremina (Drury). She lost only game in the next two matches as she easily advanced to the round of 16 consolation round. In three sets, Drasch was eliminated 3-6, 6-0, 10-2 by Georgina Cupper (Maryville).
Henthorn was defeated 6-1, 6-4 in her first match of the weekend but won the next two matches over Liana English (Cedarville) and Jasmine Cortez (Illinois-Springfield). In the quarterfinals of the consolation draw, she was slowed by Morgan Waller (Ferris State) 6-4, 6-2.
Khairutdinova dropped her opening match against Laura Brito (Findlay) 6-3, 6-3. She earned a default win in the second round before falling to Channing Varnum of Bellarimine 6-4, 7-5.
A Doubles Draw
Fernandez and Beidacki began the tournament as the eighth seed in the doubles draw. They dispatched Riley Gilman and AlexiAnn Drouin 8-1 in the first round match. In the round of 16, the duo fell short to Isabela Paixao and Agata Klak 8-5.
B Doubles Draw
Kacalova and Drasch were the fifth seed in the B draw as they fell to Maegan Flight and Cortez (Illnois-Springfield) 8-6 in the first match. They defeated Janelle English and Lauren Hollis (Cedarville) 8-3. The run was stopped by Jennifer Skonieczny and Varnum from Bellarmine 8-6.
Henthorn and Khairutdinova met Cedarville's L. English and and Abbey Evans in the first round, falling 9-7. Cristina Nieto and Taylor Lighty (Findlay) defeated the duo 6-1.
Walsh will compete at the UNOH Invitational this weekend in Lima, Ohio.
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