Six into Quarters for Seward Women at Nationals

Four Seward County singles players and a pair of doubles teams advanced to the quarterfinal round at the NJCAA National Tournament on Monday, vaulting the Lady Saints into 6th place in the tournament, just three points off the tournament lead.

Seward’s action on Monday began at #1 singles where Mialiniaina Rakotondrazafy took the court of the Lady Saints. After collecting a win on day one of the tournament, Rakotondrazafy struggled against 3rd ranked Gabrille Andrews of Tyler on day two, falling 6-2 in the first before being blanked in the second 6-0 to end her tournament in 9th place.

In #2 singles, the Lady Saints top ranked player, Thalita Rodrigues took the court in the round of 16 against Essence Green of North Central Texas. Rodrigues came out firing, putting a 6-0 beating on Green in the first and a 6-1 mark on her in the second to easily breeze to Tuesday’s quarters where she will take on 11th ranked Julia Sergheeva of State College of Florida.

The other half of Seward’s Rakotondrazafy combo, Maminiaina, battled 33rd ranked Viktoria Seifert of Seminole State in the second round of #3 singles play. Seifert had the upper hand from the start, taking the first 6-3 over Rakotondrazafy before finishing her off with a 6-1 win in the second to halt Rakotondrazafy’s run in the tourney in 9th place.

After a first round bye on day one, Yennifer Delgado took the court for the first time on Monday in #4 singles. Delgado opposed Pima’s Stephanie Nickles and hung tough in the first with a 6-3 win and coasted to a 6-1 win in the second to secure the victory. Delgado advances to the quarterfinals where she will take on top seeded Mingxiu Du of ASA Tuesday.

Drawing one of the top seeds in the #5 singles bracket, Nthabi Mogopodi also picked up a first round bye Sunday. Her first action of the tournament came Monday as she took on Eileen Gallegos of Laredo. Mogopodi was in control the entire match, taking a 6-2 decision in the first and a 6-1 decision in the second to easily move on in the draw. Mogopodi will now get a rematch of the Region VI Championship match at #5 on Tuesday when she takes on Cowley’s Bruna Chaves with a trip to the tournament semis on the line.

Tadi Mrewa was the final Lady Saint to see action on Monday as she took on Snead State’s Morgan Thompson. Mrewa handled her business in the first with a 6-2 win and put another 6-2 mark on Thompson in the second to sweep the match and push on to the quarterfinals. Mrewa draws Collin’s Sierra Chapman Tuesday morning in the quarters.

In doubles play, Seward’s Rakotondrazafy combo took the court at #1, going up against the defending National Champions from ASA Bianco/Olivares. The Silver Storm’s top pair was too much for the Lady Saints, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 win to eliminate the Rakotondrazafy’s from the tournament in 9th place.

After picking up a first round bye in #2 doubles, Rodrigues/Mogopodi looked rusty early on as they took on Hess/Landa of Collin. The Lady Saints 11th raked duo were handed a 6-3 loss in the first to fall behind early before storming back for a 6-3 win in the second and 6-2 victory in the third for the win. They survive and advance to Tuesday’s quarters where they will take on Detlava/Yatsenko of Saint Petersburg with a trip to the final four on the line.

Madison Hoelting and Tadi Mrewa faced a familiar foe in their second round match Monday as they took on Hammeke/Reade of Barton in the round of 16. Hoelting/Mrewa cruised as expected by matching 6-1 scores to easily move onto the quarters where they will now get another Region VI opponent in Chaves/Tipton from Cowley Tuesday.

After two days of action the Lady Saints sit in 6th place, just three points off the tournament lead held by ASA Miami, Tyler, and Mesa who are all tied atop the leaderboard with 27 points.

NJCAA NATIONAL TOURNAMENT DAY TWO RESULTS<http://www.sewardsaints.com/sports/wten/2015-16/files/2016WomensNationalsDayTwo.pdf>

Roy Allen