THE ITA CUP
The ITA Cup serves as the individual national championship for doubles and singles across NCAA Division II. Each player or doubles team is guaranteed at least three matches over the week, and if the players keep winning, they progress towards being named national champion.
The tournament itself takes place at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Georgia at the largest hard court facility in the United States. Action runs from Thursday, October 16 through Sunday, October 19.
The Patriots doubles team of
Natalia Gorzny and
Yona Bancarel serve as the first women to represent the Patriots at the ITA Cup in the Division II era. They take on Liliana Drukerova and Ami Miya from Catawba in their opening round match. That match takes place at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
In men's doubles,
Daniil Felker and
Carel Wessel make their own return to the ITA Cup for the second straight year. This season, they serve as the #3 seed in competition and will face off with Brendan Jayaprakash and Harry Pugh from Lander. That match is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Malo Poulesquen makes his first ever trip to the ITA Cup, representing the Patriots in singles. He will face off with #2 seed Yan Kodjoed from Barry in his first round match at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.
HOW WE GOT HERE
All five Patriots earned selection into the ITA Cup from at-large selections, stemming from strong performances at the ITA South Central Regional Tournament.
Poulesquen battled his way all the way to the semifinals of the singles draw and becomes just the fourth singles player in the Division II era to earn qualification into the ITA Cup.
Wessel and Felker battled to the quarterfinals of their draw in the regional, and now become the second doubles pair in the Division II era to make it to back-to-back ITA Cups.
Bancarel and Gorzny also pushed themselves to the semifinals of the doubles draw as the #1 seed in the regional tournament, earning a spot as an at-large selection.
