No. 8 Women's Tennis Cruises Past Newberry in Regional Opener
COLUMBUS – The second-seeded Columbus State women's tennis team, ranked No 8 in the latest ITA Poll, tallied a 4-0 win over seventh-seeded and 25th-ranked Newberry College on the opening day of play in the 2026 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional at the John W. Walden Tennis Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A short-handed Newberry team forfeited the doubles match in the third flight before CSU won at Nos. 1 and 2 to build an early 1-0 match lead. The duo of senior Nikoline Gullacksen and junior Monika Temkova won 6-1 on court two, followed by a 6-3 win in the top flight by senior Laura Pesickova and freshman Isabell Ek.
- Columbus State again collected free points, building a 3-0 advantage, as the Wolves forfeited the Nos. 5 and 6 singles matches.
- Redshirt-sophomore Sofia Lauretti clinched the match for the Cougars with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep on court four to advance her team in the postseason.
UP NEXT
Columbus State will face the winner of today's afternoon match between third-seeded Flagler and sixth-seeded Wingate tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.
No. 18 Saints upset the No. 11 Bulldogs to advance in the NCAA DII Southeast Regional
COLUMBUS, Ga. - No. 15 (ITA Division II National Poll) Flagler College women's tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional after upsetting No. 11 Wingate University, 4-2, this afternoon at the John W. Walden Tennis Center.
For the third consecutive year, the Bulldogs and Saints saw each other in the Southeast Regional tournament. This is the second consecutive year Flagler came out victorious after facing them in the first round. Earning their seventh ranked win on the year, the Saints advanced to 17-10 record while the Bulldogs fell to 15-7. Flagler will face the host and No. 8 in the nation, Columbus State University tomorrow at 1 PM.
Flagler gained through win through singles play. Court one's No. 18
Eryka Kruk was the first to win her match as she defeated Claudia Vallejos 6-0 and 6-2. Mirroring Kruk,
Sofia Balsera put the Saints up 2-1 after defeating Honomi Watanabe 6-2 and 6-0.
Lea Jakic set the Saints up to win as she defeated Benedetta Palazzo 6-4 and 6-2. To send the Saints to the next round,
Ornella Lomenzo defeated Mariia Bobrovska 6-2 and 6-4. With this win, Lomenzo added to her now six match win streak.
North Georgia tops Lenoir-Rhyne 4-1 at NCAA Southeast Regional
SALISBURY, N.C. - North Georgia opened the NCAA Southeast Regional with a 4-1 dual-match victory over Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday, clinching the result behind a strong doubles showing and three straight-set singles wins.
The key result came early in doubles, where North Georgia secured the opening point by taking two of the three flights. Anastasiia Opolska and Stokusova set the tone with a 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles, while Victoria Niox-Chateau and Giraldo edged Lenoir-Rhyne in a 7-6 decision at No. 3. Lenoir-Rhyne's Runa Muderrisoglu and Mehetia Boosie claimed the No. 2 doubles match, 6-3, but North Georgia still carried a 1-0 lead into singles play.
North Georgia built on that advantage with decisive work across the singles lineup. Opolska earned a 6-4, 7-5 win over Runa Muderrisoglu at No. 1 singles, adding to her standout day after contributing to the doubles point. Emily Bush delivered one of the most lopsided results of the afternoon at No. 5 singles, beating Mehetia Boosie 6-1, 6-0. Niox-Chateau then added the clinching point at No. 6 singles with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Enrica Favaron, giving North Georgia the four team points needed to end the match.
Lenoir-Rhyne's lone point came from Nellie Wahlberg at No. 3 singles. Wahlberg defeated her opponent 6-2, 7-6, earning the Bears' only singles victory of the match. Two other singles flights, at No. 2 and No. 4, were not completed or did not produce recorded results once the overall team result had been decided.
North Georgia finished the day with two doubles wins and three singles victories, the formula that carried the team through the regional opener. Opolska and Niox-Chateau each figured prominently in both doubles and singles, while Bush's dominant No. 5 performance helped keep the pressure on throughout the afternoon in Salisbury.