Demon Deacons Set for 2023 ITA Carolina Regionals

10/18/2023 3:37:00 PM | Women's Tennis

The five-day event is slated to begin Thursday in Chapel Hill, N.C.

By: Dylan Shackelford

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's tennis team is set to begin play at the 2023 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Carolina Regionals at the Chewing Tennis Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Thursday (Oct. 19).

The event will be hosted by North Carolina and will run from Thursday to Monday (Oct. 23). The finalists of each regional tournament will automatically qualify for the ITA Fall Nationals in two weeks (Nov. 1-5).

Graduate student Marcella Cruz, sophomores Stella Li and Whitley Pate in addition to senior Mia Ahmad, will begin singles qualifying action at 9 a.m. Thursday as seniors Casie Wooten (No. 44), Brooke Killingsworth, sophomore Nevena Carton and freshman Sankavi Gownder will start play in the main draw Friday.

Li and freshman Aubrey Nisbet will open doubles play for the Deacs at 3 p.m. Thursday, followed by Ahmad/Gownder (3:30 p.m.), No. 31 Killingsworth/Cruz (4 p.m.) and Wooten/Blanch (6 p.m.). Due to a withdrawal, Carton/Pate will automatically advance to the Round of 16.

You can find the full draw here.

Wake Forest Participants

Singles

Doubles

No. 31 Brooke Killingsworth/Marcella Cruz
Stella Li/Aubrey Nisbet
Nevena Carton/Whitley Pate
Mia Ahmad/Sankavi Gownder
Casie Wooten/Krystal Blanch

Last Time Out

Casie Wooten had an impressive showing in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American Championships in Cary, N.C. two weeks ago.

Wooten, currently ranked No. 44 in the ITA singles section, picked up her fourth-consecutive straight-set victory as she took down No. 8 Anastasiya Komar of Oklahoma State (6-2, 7-6) in the first round of the main draw. It was the second-highest ranked win of Wooten's career and highest since she took down No. 5 Chloe Beck (Duke) in the fall of 2022.

The senior's run came to an end the following afternoon, as Wooten fell to No. 37 Carolina Gomez Alonso from Arkansas in the Round of 16 (6-1, 6-2).

In qualifying, Wooten earned an impressive win over Oklahoma's Ava Catanzarite, 7-6 (5), 6-0, and clinched her spot in the second round of qualifying.

The following day, the senior took down No. 54 Alex Blokhina of Stanford in straight sets (6-2, 7-5) after a comeback set two victory. In the third, and final, qualifying round, Wooten grabbed yet another dominant victory over LSU's Kinaa Graham (6-1, 6-3) and secured her place in the main draw.

In doubles, senior Brooke Killingsworth and graduate student Marcella Cruz fell, 1-8, to Dana Guzman and Alina Shcherbinia from Oklahoma in the first qualifying round.

2022 Carolina Regionals

In this same event a year ago, hosted by the Deacs, senior Maddie Lynch cruised her way to a title win in the B2 Singles flight, winning four total matches and securing the championship (Oct. 16). That same afternoon, Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingsworth were crowned champions of the A2 Doubles division. The victory earned the two a berth to the ITA Fall Nationals.

Up Next

Following the conclusion of the Carolina Regionals, the qualified Deacons will then head to San Diego, Calif. for the ITA Fall Nationals from November 1-5 to wrap up fall action.

Follow the Deacs

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com