Terps Finish Impressive 18-6 in Singles at 49er Invite
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Maryland women’s tennis put together an impressive showing at the 49er Invite, finishing the tournament with an 18-6 record in singles competition. The Terrapins sent nine players to Charlotte for their fourth tournament of the fall season and faced competition from Charlotte, Rutgers, Missouri and Clemson. Freshman Anastasiia Sorska, juniors Mila Mulready and Oliwia Orlinska and senior Aida Eissa each completed the tournament without a singles loss.
The tournament was originally scheduled to run from Oct. 2-4, but competition was moved forward because of inclement weather expected in the Charlotte area. Maryland entered the weekend having already competed at the Debbie Southern Furman Fall Classic, Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational and ITA All-American Championships. The 49er Invite provided another opportunity for head coach Katie Dougherty’s team to test itself against quality opponents before the fall schedule moves into its final stretch.
Sorska Shines for Maryland
Sorska delivered one of Maryland’s best performances of the weekend and showed plenty of composure in difficult matches. The freshman rallied from a set down to defeat Charlotte’s Lucie Chacon, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, before dominating Rutgers’ Zeynep Ilker, 6-1, 6-1. Sorska completed her undefeated singles weekend with a 6-2, 5-7, 10-2 victory over Missouri’s Danielle Chapman.
The performance was particularly encouraging because Sorska is still at the beginning of her collegiate career after joining Maryland from Kharkiv, Ukraine. She demonstrated the ability to win in several different ways, including recovering after losing an opening set and handling the pressure of a match tiebreak. Those experiences could prove valuable when Maryland begins dual-match competition later in the season.
Orlinska Keeps Rolling
Orlinska continued an excellent start to her junior season after previously making noise at the ITA All-American Championships. She defeated Charlotte’s Sara Nakano, 7-5, 6-1, before overwhelming Rutgers’ Zuzanna Frankowska, 6-2, 6-0. Orlinska entered the 49er Invite after advancing through the qualifying singles draw at the ITA All-American Championships, making her strong play in Charlotte another encouraging development for the Terps.
Her play also gives Maryland another dependable option near the top of its eventual spring lineup. Orlinska was one of four Maryland players to earn a spot in the preseason ITA rankings, and her fall results have reinforced why she received that recognition. Maryland will need reliable singles production against a difficult Big Ten schedule, and Orlinska continues to look capable of providing it.
Eissa and Mulready Go Unbeaten
Eissa also completed an undefeated singles weekend, beginning with a hard-fought victory against Charlotte’s Vanesa Drukerova. Eissa won that match, 6-4, 4-6, 10-5, before defeating Rutgers’ Naomi Karki, 7-6(1), 6-3. She closed her tournament in convincing fashion with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Clemson’s Sophie Clayton.
The senior’s success continued an impressive fall that already included winning Flight A singles at the Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational. Eissa’s experience should be valuable for a Maryland roster that features players at several different stages of their college careers. Her ability to handle close matches was once again apparent in Charlotte, especially in her three-set victory over Drukerova.
Mulready gave Maryland its fourth undefeated singles player at the tournament. She survived a difficult match against Rutgers’ Karina Jumazhanova, winning 6-3, 2-6, 10-8, and followed it with a straight-set victory over Missouri’s Daria Budko, 6-2, 6-4. The junior from Burlingame, California, added another productive weekend to a fall season in which Maryland has been able to evaluate considerable depth throughout its roster.
Terps Get Contributions Throughout Lineup
Maryland’s 18 singles victories were not limited to its four undefeated players. Magdalena Baniak rallied to defeat Charlotte’s Ni Xiang Mohamed, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, before adding another comeback victory against Clemson’s Tereza Suchankova, 3-6, 6-3, 10-7. Diya Challa also recorded victories against Charlotte’s Lucie Ivanov and Clemson’s Antonia Yecora.
Lucia Donnelly responded from an early loss against Charlotte by producing two dominant victories. Donnelly defeated Rutgers’ Stella Schmitz, 6-0, 6-2, and then handled Missouri’s Mariana Higuita Barraza, 6-0, 6-4. Katherine Hung also contributed a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Rutgers’ Cindy Zhou as Maryland accumulated wins throughout its lineup.
That depth may ultimately be the most important takeaway from Maryland’s weekend. Fall tournaments are structured differently from the head-to-head dual matches that will determine Maryland’s spring season, but they provide coaches with opportunities to evaluate players against a variety of opponents. Going 18-6 in singles against players representing the Big Ten, ACC, SEC and host Charlotte gave Dougherty plenty of positive results to evaluate.
Maryland Finds Success in Doubles
Maryland also collected several doubles victories during the tournament. Orlinska and Ema Kovacevic defeated Missouri’s Irina Anghel and Chapman, 6-3, while Mulready and Sorska defeated Budko and Higuita Barraza, 6-4. Donnelly and Challa added a 6-2 victory against Clemson’s Talia Neilson-Gatenby and Clayton.
The Terps continued producing doubles victories Friday when Kovacevic and Orlinska defeated Charlotte’s Nakano and Chacon, 6-2. Baniak and Eissa beat Charlotte’s Lucia Widdowson and Ni Xiang Mohamed, 6-3, while Mulready and Sorska earned a 6-4 win against Rutgers’ Ilker and Karki. Hung and Donnelly also combined for victories against Rutgers and Missouri during the tournament.
The doubles results were more mixed than Maryland’s dominant singles performance, but the fall provides an opportunity to experiment with pairings before the spring. Maryland used several different combinations in Charlotte, giving the coaching staff more information about which players complement each other. Developing dependable doubles teams will become particularly important once dual matches begin and the opening doubles point becomes part of the team score.
Strong Fall Continues for Terps
Maryland has been busy throughout September and early October, and Charlotte represented the program’s fourth tournament of the fall. All 10 players on Maryland’s roster had already made their fall debuts before the 49er Invite, allowing Dougherty and associate head coach Ruth Seaborne to evaluate nearly the entire roster against outside competition. The Terps have also been able to face opponents from several conferences rather than limiting their schedule to regional competition.
Maryland’s next scheduled competition is the W35 Las Vegas event, which runs from Oct. 5-11. The Terps are then scheduled to compete at the ITA Regionals later in October as the fall portion of their schedule continues. After an 18-6 singles performance in Charlotte, Maryland will head into those events with plenty of momentum.
MSB Take
An 18-6 singles record against competition from Charlotte, Rutgers, Missouri and Clemson is an excellent weekend for Maryland, but the biggest positive may be how many different Terrapins contributed. Maryland did not need one dominant player to carry the team because Sorska, Orlinska, Mulready and Eissa all went undefeated while several teammates added multiple victories. That type of depth can become extremely important when the Terps begin the demanding Big Ten portion of their schedule.
Sorska may be the most intriguing story coming out of Charlotte because of how she won her matches. The freshman showed resilience in multiple long contests and finished the tournament undefeated despite facing opponents from three different programs. Combine her emergence with the continued strong play of veterans such as Orlinska and Eissa, and Maryland appears to be developing a lineup with an encouraging combination of experience and young talent.
Fall results do not guarantee what will happen when the team portion of the schedule begins, but Maryland is accomplishing exactly what it should be accomplishing right now. The Terps are getting players meaningful matches, testing different doubles combinations and building confidence against quality competition. An 18-6 singles weekend is another strong step forward for a Maryland team that should be worth watching closely when the spring season arrives.
