SAN ANTONIO – Kicking off 2024 fall action this weekend at the Jake Frederick Memorial Islander Open, hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Ekua Youri and Arina Babenko turned in the top performances and came away as flight victors from a very successful starting weekend.
Youri (Sophomore/Botswana) individually won the Singles A, moving past Texas A&M - Kingsville’s Luna Jokanovic (6-2, 6-4), Texas A&M - Corpus Christi’s Letitcia Tarocco (6-4, 6-2) and teammate Babenko (6-4, 6-3).
Overall in singles, the Roadrunners went 8-3 in the tournament, advancing two to the final, where they had to meet for the crown. Katherine Robinson also earned a main draw quarterfinal win over Kingsville’s Kaitlin Blount (6-2, 6-4) and defeated Kingsville’s Andrea Landaeta on Sunday. Milica Milosavljevic added a Sunday win by topping Kingsville’s Noll.
In doubles play, Youri and Babenko (Junior/Omsk, Russia) teamed up and advanced through the draw, all the way to the Doubles A title with a 7-5 victory over Corpus Christi’s Kseniya Ramanouskaya and Yana Mykytyn. The UTSA pair previously earned wins over Kingsville’s Manuela Turolo/Annalena Noll (6-1) and then Kingsville’s Tocci Guadalupe/Jokanovic (6-2). Also in doubles play, Milosavljevic teamed with Robinson to reach the Doubles B final before falling in a 6-2 decision to Corpus Christi’s tandem of Adriana Jimenez Casado and Zoe Moley.
Competition continues to heat up quickly for the Roadrunner women’s tennis squad, as next week brings the H-E-B Invitational in Waco, while a select contingent will be scheduled for ITA All-Americans in Cary, N.C.
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