College Tennis News - Three Buckeyes Still Alive in USTA/ITA Regional Qualifying Draw

COLUMBUS, Ohio - At the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional, three members of the Ohio State women's tennis team will compete for a spot in the main draw after advancing to the third round of the qualifying bracket Thursday. Junior Noelle Malley won two matches on the day, while senior Kara Cecil and redshirt freshman Nicole Flower each won in the second round after first-round byes. The University of Illinois is hosting the tournament in Champaign, Ill.

The trio will play Friday morning for a place in the 48-player singles main draw. Flower will take on Misa Kedzierski of Illinois at 9 a.m. CT, Cecil will face Emmie Marx of Illinois State at 9:30 a.m. CT and Malley will face Eastern Michigan's Kiara Supejova at 10:15 a.m. CT.

In addition, the first two rounds of doubles action will be Friday. The Buckeye tandem of sophomore Kelsey Dieters and Cecil, seeded sixth, received a first round bye and will play for the first time at 4:30 p.m. CT. The seventh-seeded duo of seniors Fidan Manashirova and Gabby Steele also have a first-round bye and will play at 5:30 p.m. CT.

Buckeye duos with first-round matches include the tandem of Malley and freshman Grainne O'Neill and the pair of Flower and junior Kelsey Becker.

In singles qualifying action Thursday, Malley defeated Michigan State's Katrina Lingl in the first round and topped Julia Jamieson of the host Illini in the second round in straight sets. Cecil and Flower had first-round byes. Flower advanced with a 7-5, 6-2 win over IPFW's Theresa Neumeyr, while Cecil topped UIC's Jana Knoppe, 7-5, 6-1. Buckeye freshman O'Neill, playing her first collegiate match, lost in three sets to Akron's Angelika Jogusuria (6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-2).

Singles play begins Saturday and runs through Tuesday. The doubles bracket will wrap up with the final Monday.

USTA/ITA Midwest Regional
Singles Qualifying Draw
First Round
Noelle Malley (OSU) def. Katrina Lingl (MSU), 7-6 (4), 6-2
Angelika Jogusuria (Akron) def. Grainne O'Neill (OSU), 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-2
Nicole Flower (OSU) - Bye
Kara Cecil (OSU) - Bye
Second Round
Nicole Flower (OSU) def. Theresa Neumeyr (IPFW), 7-5, 6-2
Kara Cecil (OSU) def. Jana Knoppe (UIC), 7-5, 6-1
Noelle Malley (OSU) def. Julia Jamieson (ILL), 6-1, 6-4