Tennis Completes First Day of ITA Regionals
10/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
NEW HAVEN, CONN. - The Seton Hall tennis team took to the courts on Friday to begin play at the 2011 ITA Regional Tournament. The day's schedule included qualifying round singles matches as well as competition in the doubles main draw.
Senior Elizabeth Verow (Barnt Green, England) had a strong showing after having previously been listed as an alternate. Verow ousted Manhattan's Hilary Valenzuela 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 in her first round match. In the second round, Verow fell short against #7 seed Gabby Sullivan of Cornell 2-6, 2-6.
Rocio Portela (Demetrio Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) also competed in qualifying singles for the Pirates. Portela struggled to find a rhythm and was downed by NJIT's Nina Vayevska 2-6, 2-6.
Both Verow and Portela pulled double duty on the day and would later compete in the opening rounds of the doubles main draw. Portela teamed with Pui Wing Sher (Shui Wai, Hong Kong) to best the Quinnipiac team of Viebrock/Labarth 8-5 in first round play. Sher and Portela came up against the sixth-seeded team of Vicky Brook and Hanna Yu representing Yale in the second round and eventually fell short, losing 5-8.
Verow paired with freshman Madison Shoemaker (Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia) as SHU's second doubles entry. Verow and Shoemaker jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over Balasa/Ivey of Rutgers. Play between the two teams was extremely competitive and the match would eventually stand even at 4-4. In the end, it was Balasa/Ivey that found the final edge, taking an 8-5 victory and ending the Pirates' day.
Matches continue for SHU on Saturday as Pui Wing Sher competes in the main draw singles bracket. Sher is looking to improve on a 2010 performance that saw her advance to the second round of the main draw as a freshman. Sher is slated to play Cornell's Lauren Frazier in first round action. The winner will take on Vanessa Petrini of Rutgers who has received a bye.
