SUMTER, N.C. - Dana Heimen of the Flagler College women's tennis team was the ITA Southeast Regional runner-up in singles play this evening at the Palmetto Tennis Center.
Heimen competed against top-seed Nikoline Gullacksen of Columbus State University. The match outcome was decided in three sets with an impressive 6-2 first set win from Heimen.
Tuesday's semifinal round came against fifth-seeded Mariana Ramirez of Columbus State. After going down 2-5 in the first set, Heimen made a triumphant comeback tying the match 5-5 before Ramirez withdrew due to injury. In her first three matches, Heimen had a dominant run where she defeated all her opponents in two sets.
No. 17-seed Laura Jipescu played her way to the quarterfinal match until she was matched with Gullacksen. During the Round of 16, Jipescu faced ninth-seeded Runa Muderrisoglu of Lenoir-Rhyne University. A constant battle, Jipescu took set one 6-3 then set three 6-2.
Eryka Kruk and Anastasia Nikolova cleared their way to the Round of 16 where they were given difficult matchups. In Nikolova's first season as a Saint, she faced second-seeded Angelina Linnikova of the University of North Georgia. In her two first matches Nikolova took down her opponents with ease, wrapping them up in two sets. Kruk met sixth-seeded Ami Miya of Catawba College and fell in two sets. Prior to this, Kruk had an incredible two match slate where she won 6-2 and 6-1 in the Round of 32.
Sofia Balsera made her debut as a Saint in the Round of 128 where she emerged victorious in three sets. After dropping her first set in the round of 64, Balsera came back swinging, taking the final two sets to move on.
Doubles play saw Heimen/Nikolova make it to the semifinal round, losing to top-seeded and eventual tournament champions, Gullacksen/Ramirez of Columbus State. The duo saw little resistance leading up to this match, only sacrificing a total of four points to their round of 16 and quarterfinal opponents.
Kruk/Jipescu capped out at the quarterfinal round where they met the tournament runner-ups of Angelina Linnikova and Carolina Reis of North Georgia. In their first two matches, the pairing was nearly perfect, taking both matches 8-1.
The team will take some time off before taking on the Embry-Riddle Fall Invitational in Daytona Beach, Florida, Oct. 25-27
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