Walter Advances to Round of 32 at ITA Atlantic Regional

LYNCHBURG, Va. — Freshman Victoria Walter advanced to the second round of the ITA Atlantic Regional tournament Saturday at the Cook Tennis Complex.

Walter defeated Liberty's Ashley Bongart in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0, in the opening round of the singles draw. The freshman has won three straight matches at the regional tournament after advancing through qualifying and sports an 8-2 singles record through her first 10 matches of the fall season.

"Victoria played extremely well today," head coach John Mercer said. "It's nice to see her confidence grow as the semester moves forward."

Anna Smith fell in her opening round in three sets against Liberty's Lara Soares, who was seeded 13th, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4). Liz Stefancic was defeated by ODU's Yulia Starodubsteva, who was seeded third, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Smith and Stefancic will begin play in the singles backdraw Sunday.

"Anna also did a great job competing today," Mercer said. "Just a tough one to lose when she had five match points, but she's showing real improvement."

In the Herd's lone doubles action, Smith and Stefancic were defeated by the second seed in the tournament, Virginia's Meghan Kelley and Sofia Munera, 8-5.

In a singles extra match, Madi Ballow registered her second win of the tournament with a tiebreaker victory over George Washington's Elena Schneider, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5).

"Liz and Madi continue to get better every day," Mercer said. "It's fun to see them compete."

Marshall continues play at the ITA Atlantic Regional Sunday at 9 a.m. when Walter takes on the top seed in the singles tournament, Virginia Tech's Natalie Novotna. Singles backdraw matches will begin at approximately 10:30 a.m.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Singles Main Draw
Round of 64
Victoria Walter (Marshall) def. Ashley Bongart (Liberty); 6-4, 6-0
No. 13 Lara Soares (Liberty) def. Anna Smith (Marshall); 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4)
No. 3 Yulia Starodubsteva (Old Dominion) def. Liz Stefancic (Marshall); 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Main Draw
Round of 32
No. 2 Meghan Kelley/Sofia Munera (Virginia) def. Anna Smith/Liz Stefancic (Marshall); 8-5
Singles Extra Matches
Madi Ballow (Marshall) def. Elena Schneider (George Washington); 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5)

SUNDAY'S SCHEDULE
Singles Main Draw
Round of 32
No. 1 Natalie Novotna (Virginia Tech) vs. Victoria Walter (Marshall) – 9 a.m.
**Round of 16 matches will begin at noon.
Singles Backdraw
Round of 32
Anna Smith (Marshall) vs. Caragh Courtney (Delaware) – 10:30 a.m.
Liz Stefancic (Marshall) vs. Emma Petersen (James Madison) – 10:30 a.m.
**Round of 16 matches are TBD

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Walter Advances to Round of 32 at ITA Atlantic Regional

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Players Mentioned

Madi Ballow

Anna Smith

Liz Stefancic

Victoria Walter

Marshall University Athletics