2018 ITA West Region Championships

AZUSA, Calif. – Three intense days of action at the ITA West Regional Championship culminated with redshirt senior Monika Stanikova capturing the first singles title in ART U tennis program history and the third consecutive doubles championship for seniors Alma Thell-Lenntorp and Klara Thell-Lenntorp. 

"Winning and fighting for every ball in every single match is every coach's dream," said head coach Clarisse Baca. "These amazing artists played 28 matches in only three days and their grit and perseverance made them champions."

At the Munson & Bavougian Tennis Complex with Azusa Pacific serving as tournament host, ART U began on Thursday with six entrants in the 64-competitor singles draw and three pairs in the 32-team doubles draw.

All six Urban Knights qualified through their opening round matchups led by Stanikova's 6-1, 6-1 win over Biola's Allison Torres. She then surpassed Sonoma State's Hannah Highsmith by the same score and defeated Stanislaus State's Cassidy Ferrell 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals. She moved past Kara Hilton of Azusa Pacific then started Saturday by putting away Concordia's Ghazal Pakbaten 6-3, 6-1 for a faceoff with the tournament's No. 1 seed Jensyn Warren of Sonoma State. Continuing her own dominance, Stanikova refused to allow a set to any of her opponents, capturing the singles title by way of a 6-4, 7-5 final score.

"My opponent in the final was a player who I never beat before," said Stanikova. "But when I stepped on the court I told myself, 'It doesn't matter who your opponent is, everything is on you.'" She added, "I was focusing on my game and everything was working well. The match was very close and tough, but I was ready for everything and the result came. It was an amazing feeling and it still is. I cannot believe that I became a champion."

Stanikova, along with her partner senior Paula Alcantara, found themselves in the doubles semi-finals after defeating No. 2 seeded Michelle Torres and Gabi Armas of Point Loma 8-3 in the quarterfinals. The duo then took on the familiar No. 3-seeded Warren and Jenna DeTurk of Sonoma State who defeated the Knights' pair 8-1.

Alcantara also had a couple of singles wins; her first was a back-and-forth battle against Azusa Pacific's Savchenko that went three sets: 4-6, 6-0 and an elongated 10-6 final set. In the next round, she defeated Nicole Camaratta of Point Loma 6-3, 6-3 for a chance at an upset against Warren that ultimately did not come to fruition as Alcantara was defeated 6-3, 6-0.   

Junior Mariacristina Andrisani started her tournament with a pair of singles wins, first a 6-0, 6-3 victory against Sonoma State's Jennifer Kingsley and then a 6-1, 6-3 win over Point Loma's Nielson. Andrisani then faced Hinton in a match that saw the longest set of the tournament. After a 6-4 sets for each side, the players battled in a back-and-forth third frame that finally ended in Hinton's favor 11-9.  

In her debut as an Urban Knight, freshman Sophia Ragona earned her first ever collegiate win in dominant fashion against Lily Waterhouse of Biola by way of a 6-1, 6-0 final score. The Turin, Italy native went down in the next round after a hard-fought three set match including a 10-7 final set against Chloe Wight of UCSD.   

The Thell-Lenntorp twins took the court Thursday looking to defend their back to back doubles championships from 2016 and 2017 at the ITA West Regionals. Being the No. 1-seeded doubles team, they started with a bye before playing Kayla Nguyen and Ferrell of Stanislaus State, whom they defeated 8-1. Then, in the quarterfinals, the twins defeated Sonoma State's Carolyn Brooner and Highsmith 8-5. The pair faced APU's Hinton and Wagner in the semi-finals who they put away 8-6 to make it to the championship where Sonoma State's Warren and DeTurk awaited them. The Sonoma State duo put up a fight, but ultimately the Thell-Lenntorp twins defended their title for a second straight year by way of an 8-6 victory.

"It felt amazing to win today," said Alma. "Not only because we played two really good ladies from Sonoma, but also that this was our last time playing this tournament."

Klara added on: "I can't believe we won this tournament for the third time today. Big shout out to my sister, she did a really good job in the final even though she was injured and I had to step it up. She was killer at the net and I know we she gave everything today and that's why we leave the tournament as champions."  

"Since the first day of official practice, we set up goals for the fall season and this checks one in our list," said Baca. "The road is long and we have to continue to stay hungry and keep improving to achieve that desire for a NCAA Championship."

Other double victories include Ragona and Andrisani who won two doubles matches both by a score of 8-3 before being falling to Wagner and Hinton in the quarterfinals.

In conjunction with the ITA West Regional Championship, junior Kristina Gross competed in the Cougar Classic where she went a perfect 3-0.   

ART U now looks ahead to its next fall competition – the Saint Mary's Invitational on Oct. 5-7 in Moraga.