Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney women's tennis team picked up several singles and doubles wins at the annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central this past weekend in Edmond, Okla.

There were two singles and one doubles draws with the winners (singles "A" and doubles) advancing to the ITA National Small College Championships in Georgia later this month.

Sophomore Melisa Becerra (Colombia) paced the Lopers as she went 3-1 to reach the quarterfinals. Seeded 16th, she had a straight set win before needing to win back-to-back tie breakers in order to face the top seed. Becerra got past Northeastern State's Vera Carvalho (7-6 (1), 6-7 (4), 10-8) and then upset ninth-seed Skye Royall (6-4, 4-6, 10-6) of Southeastern Oklahoma. Becerra's weekend ended with a straight sets loss to the top-seeded Mae Canete of Central Oklahoma who went onto win the bracket.

Next, freshman Alexis Bernthal (Boulder, Colo.) won two times in this same bracket. Seeded 15th, she easily blew past Stefany Stemmer of Fort Hays (6-0, 6-0) and Kinsey Fields from Washburn (6-1, 6-2) before running into second-seeded Adel Abidulina. Bernthal lost to the UCO Broncho in straight sets in the round of 16. Finally, sophomore Myrzaiym "Mia" Sherikulova (Kyrgyzstan) picked up UNK's other "A" win, a 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 overtime decision over a Washburn Ichabod. Sherikulova then lost a third-set tiebreaker in the next round to be eliminated. 

In the "B" draw, Lincoln freshman Clare Plachy (seeded fourth) won twice with Madagascar freshman Narindra Ranaivo the "A" consolation champ. She won three straight matches to stay alive, advanced without having to play and then bested Esther Guemes by an 8-5 score to take the title. Ranavio and freshman Masha Hatouka (Belarus) then won the "B" doubles draw thanks to four wins. 

The Lopers are now off until the indoor season begins in February 2022.