Minnesota Duo Advances to Round of 32 on Day 2 of ITA Regionals

Memphis, TN - The University of Minnesota tennis team began main draw competition on the second day of the 2024 ITA Central Championships. All 10 Golden Gopher student-athletes competed with two advancing in main draw play on Friday.

In doubles, the Minnesota duo of Anlin Xie and Yinong Ma earned a hard-fought victory in the round of 64, defeating Iowa State's Maria De La Paz Alberto and Suzaine Pretorius, 8-7 (4). Xie and Ma will face Oklahoma in the round of 32 on Friday, with the match scheduled for 9 a.m. CT.

The Gophers found more success in consolation singles, posting a 4-2 record. Nora Knezevic, Jeselle Ante, Anlin Xie, and Sofia Pinto all had victories in the consolation singles.

Quote from Coach
"We have competed in a lot of competitive matches out here in Memphis," head coach Lois Arterberry said. "I want to highlight the grit and fight that Ma and Anlin had in main draw doubles today. They had great chemistry on the court and that translated into a huge win against Iowa State. We look forward to seeing them compete in the second round tomorrow morning. Our three main draw singles players pulled some tough opponents in the first round. Aiva had a great battle with Iowa, but fell short. This tournament is giving us some good insight on how tough our conference will be next year and the amount of work that we have to do leading up to the spring. In the B and C draws, we competed today with Deniz remaining undefeated since her debut of collegiate tennis. Jeselle battled and had a good win against a tough player. Sofia and Nora also played well to get the win today. We will continue to compete over the next couple days to gain more match experience."

Next Up
The 2024 ITA Central Regional Championships will continue on Friday, with play beginning at 9:00 a.m. (CT) at Leftwich Tennis Center in Memphis, Tenn.

Xie and Ma are scheduled to compete in the main draw, while Aiva Schmitz, Mia Liepert, and Anali Kocevar are all competing in the main draw consolation rounds tomorrow. Knezevic, Xie, Pinto, Ante will compete tomorrow in the C-Draw rounds. Deniz Turan will also continue competing in the B-Draw rounds.

Fans can follow the weekend's events on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and the ITA website.

Day Two

Singles Results

Main Draw

Aiva Schmitz
Lost to Tereza Dejnozkova (Iowa) 2-6,6-3,4-6.

Anali Kocevar
Lost to Ana Naranjo Martinez (Tulsa) 1-6,2-6.

Mia Liepert
Lost to Alina Shcherbinina (Oklahoma) 2-6,2-6.

B Draw

Deniz Turan
Def. Lucy Latham (Missouri State) 6-2,6-1.

Consolation

Sofia Pinto
Def. Ting-An Chen (Arkansas) 6-2, 6-2.

Yinong Ma
Lost to Ethel Li (North Dakota) W/O.

Jeselle Ante
Def. Maria Santos (Kansas State) 7-5,6-2.

Arina Valitova
Lost to Sana Garakani (Kansas State) 6-2,4(6)-6(10)

Anlin Xie
Def. Jessica Matthews (Iowa) 6-1,6-1.

Nora Knezevic
Def. Tayla Wilmot (Tulsa) 6-1,7(11)-6(9).

Doubles Resuts

Anlin Xie and Yinong Ma
Def. Maria De La Paz Alberto and Suzaine Pretorius (Iowa State) 8-7 (4).

Aiva Schmitz and Nora Knezevic
Lost to Saniya Singh and Eda Numanoglu (Tulsa) 2-8.

Jeselle Ante and Deniz Turan
Lost to Grace O'Donnell and Anet Koskel (Arkansas) 6-8.

Anali Kocevar and Sofia Pinto
Lost to Emily Meyer and Leonie Moeller (Memphis) 4-8.

Arina Valitova and Mia Liepert
Lost to Julia Garcia Ruiz and Roisin Gilheany (Oklahoma) 2-8.

Day One

Singles Results

Qualifying Rounds

Jeselle Ante
Lost to Cara Mester (Oklahoma) 2-6,3-6.

Nora Knezevic
Lost to Erin McKenzie (Tulsa) 4-6,3-6.

Yinong Ma
Lost to Meriem Ben-Ezzidine (Kansas) 6-4,1-6,1-6.

Sofia Pinto
Def. Amanda De Oliveira (South Dakota) 7-5,6-2
Lost to Carla Muro Castellvi (Arkansas State) 2-6,2-6

Anlin Xie
Def. Sandra Luckacova (Missouri State) 6-2,6-1
Lost to Zali Morris (Kansas State) 7-5,1-6,2-6

Arina Valitova
Def. Lucy Loy (Nebraska) 6(0)-7(7), 6-3,6-2.
Lost to Anne Knuettel (Wichita State) 6-1,5-7,0-6

B Draw

Deniz Turan
Def. Eda Numanoglu (Tulsa) 6-3, 7(7)-6(5)

Consolation

Nora Knezevic
Def. Ethel Li (North Dakota) 2-6,6-3,11-9

Jeselle Ante
Def. Nicolly Ferreira (St. Louis) 6-1,6-1

Yinong Ma
Def. Konomi Miyakawa (Central Arkansas) 6-4,6-3

Anlin Xie
Def. Jessica Matthews (Iowa) 6-1,6-1.

Sofia Pinto
Def. An-Ting Chen (Central Arkansas) 6-2,6-2.

Arina Valitova
Def. Sana Garakani (Kansas State) 6-2,4(6)-6(10)

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Jeselle Ante

Nora Knezevic

Anali Kocevar

Mia Liepert

Yinong Ma

Sofia Pinto

Aiva Schmitz

Deniz Turan

Arina Valitova

Anlin Xie