Walter, Stefancic Advance to Main Draw at ITA Atlantic Regional

LYNCHBURG, Va. — Two Marshall tennis players successfully advanced through qualifying to the main singles draw Friday at the ITA Atlantic Regional.

Freshmen Victoria Walter and Liz Stefancic won two qualifying matches each to advance to the 64-player main singles draw for Marshall. The Thundering Herd posted an overall record of 6-1 on the opening day of the tournament.

"Today was a great first day," head coach John Mercer said. "It was an impressive performance by our three freshmen to go 3-0 against seeded players and go 6-1 on the day. We look forward to getting better tomorrow."

Walter upset the top qualifying seed, Anne-Sophie Courteau of West Virginia, 7-5, 6-2, before knocking off VCU's Sofia Sualehe, 6-4, 6-1. Stefancic defeated West Virginia's Paula Goetz, who was seeded fourth in qualifying, 6-2, 6-2, and earned her spot in the main draw with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Liberty's Rebekah Anderson.

Madi Ballow defeated Richmond's Dessi Zlateva, the fifth seed in qualifying, in three sets, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (4), before falling to Radford's Anastasia Belyaeva in the second qualifying round, 6-3, 6-3.

In the Herd's lone doubles match of the day, Anna Smith and Stefancic advanced to the round of 32 with an 8-5 win over Radford's Drousile Dzeubou and Malin Falk.

The Herd continues play at the ITA Atlantic Regional Saturday at 9 a.m. when Anna Smith and Victoria Walter play their singles main draw opening round matches. Stefancic begins her singles main draw match at 10:30 a.m. Smith and Stefancic will play their doubles round of 32 match at 1 p.m. and a potential round of 16 match at 2:30 p.m.

FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Singles Qualifying Draw
First Round
Victoria Walter (Marshall) def. No. 1 Anne-Sophie Courteau (West Virginia); 7-5, 6-2
Liz Stefancic (Marshall) def. No. 4 Paula Goetz (West Virginia); 6-2, 6-2
Madi Ballow (Marshall) def. No. 5 Dessi Zlateva (Richmond); 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (4)
Second Round
Victoria Walter (Marshall) def. Sofia Sualehe (VCU); 6-4, 6-1
Liz Stefancic (Marshall) def. Rebekah Anderson (Liberty); 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
Anastasia Belyaeva (Radford) def. Madi Ballow (Marshall); 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Main Draw
Round of 64
Anna Smith/Liz Stefancic (Marshall) def. Drousile Dzeubou/Malin Falk (Radford); 8-5

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
Singles Main Draw
Round of 64
Victoria Walter (Marshall) vs. Ashley Bongart (Liberty) – 9 a.m.
No. 13 Lara Soares (Liberty) vs. Anna Smith (Marshall) – 9 a.m.
No. 3 Yulia Starodubsteva (Old Dominion) vs. Liz Stefancic (Marshall) – 9 a.m.
Doubles Main Draw
Round of 32
Anna Smith/Liz Stefancic (Marshall) vs. No. 2 Meghan Kelley/Sofia Munera (Virginia) – 1 p.m.
**Round of 16 match to begin at 2:30 p.m.

For the latest information on Marshall women's tennis, follow on Twitter at @Herd_Tennis, on Facebook at Herd Tennis and online at HerdZone.com.

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Walter, Stefancic Advance to Main Draw at ITA Atlantic Regional

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Players Mentioned

Madi Ballow

Anna Smith

Liz Stefancic

Victoria Walter

Marshall University Athletics