Kearney, Nebraska – After a day of competition between the nation’s best Division II women’s tennis teams, the four semifinalists have now been determined at the 2024 ITA Division II Women’s National Team Indoor Championship.
First on at the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center, it was Saint Leo University and Columbus State University getting us started today in Nebraska.
Last year’s runner up, Saint Leo, would take the doubles point after wins on #2 and #3 doubles. In singles, Columbus State would find wins at #1,2, and 4 singles, while Saint Leo would help even the odds with wins at #5 and #6 singles. The final court would come down to #3 singles where Lancelotti (Saint Leo) would propel The Lions to a 4-3 victory after capturing a 6-7(6) 7-5 7-5 win.
Our 11am match would pit NOVA Southeastern and Wayne State University. Following identical 6-3 wins on doubles #1 and #3, NOVA would not look back after taking the doubles point. NOVA went on to take straight set victories on courts 1, 5, and 6, dropping only 11 games.
Saint Leo and NOVA Southeastern are now set to kick off our semifinals at 11am (CT) on Saturday, February 24
In the afternoon, it was West Alabama and Barry University who would come out victorious in their opening round matches.
West Alabama found themselves against Flagler in our third quarterfinal, and following the trend of our first two winners of the morning, would go on to take the doubles point, this time at courts 1 and 2 doubles. West Alabama would take courts #2 and #3 singles while Flagler found themselves on the board with a win at #5. The clinching moment would be found for West Alabama at the #1 position with Iglupas taking the decisive victory, 6-4 1-6 6-4.
Barry University are coming into this tournament as the two-time reigning champions of the DII Women’s Team Indoor Championship, but the start of their match against the host, Nebraska-Kearney, saw 1 seed Barry drop the doubles point in front of the Loper fans gathered for the evening. From there, Barry would show why they are the top team in the country, taking courts #3 and #5 before wins at #2 and #6 would solidify their spot in the semifinals with a 5-1 victory.
Barry will take on West Alabama in our evening semifinal at 5:30pm (CT) on Saturday, February 24
Play will continue tomorrow from the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center. Fans can follow all of the action on the ITA website, WeAreCollegeTennis.com, or on social media at @ITA_Tennis on both Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
Final Scores
- 8:00 am (CT) – Saint Leo University def. Columbus State University 4-3
- 11:00 am (CT) – NOVA Southeastern def. Wayne State University 4-0
- Box Score
- 2:30 pm (CT) – University of West Alabama def. Flagler College 4-1
- Box Score
- 5:30 pm (CT) – Barry University def. University of Nebraska, Kearney 5-1
