Maria del Mar Sarda Marti falls in the Round of 16, while a duo advances to the Flight B Championship
Kira Baacke and Maria del Mar Sarda Marti punched their ticket into the Flight B Title match set for Sunday morning
SUMTER, S.C. – Hala Awad and Maria del Mar Sarda Marti were the talk of the town in the Carson-Newman camp, both advancing past the opening round. However, after the rain-soaked Friday afternoon, it was del Mar Sarda Marti that got back into her groove.
Awad and Eryka Kruk from Flagler picked up from where they left off on Friday, after their match was cut short due to thunderstorms and heavy rain that also put a bow on Day 1 of the ITA Southeast Regional.
After getting the chance to reset and following more morning showers, the two were back underway. Awad jumped out to the early advantage, winning the opening frame, 6-4. However, Kruk stormed back with a 6-3 win in the second and an 11-9 victory in the third set to take the match.
Maria del Mar Sarda Marti made quick work of Abigail Watson from North Greenville, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round. Her second matchup against Lenior-Rhyne's Runa Muderrisoglu had not begun when the rain hit on Friday, so they began with a clean slate on Saturday morning.
Muderrisoglu took the lead with a 7-5 win the opening set, before it was Mar that had the clutch gene. The Eagle got the win in a back-and-forth second set. 77-65, and then cruised into the Round of 16 with a 10-5 decision in the third frame.
However, the Spaniards' charge came to an end in the third round. Catawba's Ami Miya, who has yet to drop a set, was too much to handle, advancing to the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-2.
Elsewhere in the Flight B doubles, Del Mar Sarda Marti teamed up with Kira Baacke.
The duo won their first-round match, 8-2, over North Georgia's Emily Bush and Sofia Giraldo. Today, they kept the good vibes rolling, motoring all the way to the Championship match.
They started in the afternoon with an 8-6 victory against Yuki Suzuki and Margarita Roshka from Newberry. Then later, they won 8-4 against Middle Georgia State College's Yana Prihach and Tamanna Takoria.
Tomorrow's Flight B Doubles Championship is scheduled for a 9 a.m. start against Bera Castello and Irina Furtuna from Middle Georgia State College.
Finally, Sindija Manovska, dropped her Round of 32 matchup against North Georgia's Emily Bush in three sets.
