Salina, Kan. — Bethel College tennis made its mark at the ITA Regional Championships, with both the men's and women's sides turning in standout performances.
Women's Side
The Threshers were led by Daniela Casique, who made an impressive run to the semifinals in the women's singles draw. Casique battled through a tough quarterfinal, rallying to win a deciding third set against an opponent from Texas Wesleyan.
Sara Ladino also had a strong showing, advancing to the round of 16 in singles before falling to the fifth seed from Texas Wesleyan.
Together, Casique and Ladino carried their momentum into doubles play, reaching the championship match. The duo jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the final, but ultimately fell 6-4, 6-1 to Morningside.
Men's Side
The men's team also saw success across both singles and doubles.
In doubles, two Thresher pairs reached the semifinals. Jorge Batista and Billy Haoda pulled off one of the biggest wins of the tournament, upsetting the No. 1 seed from William Woods in the quarterfinals, 9-7. They built a 5-0 lead in the semifinals before being edged 8-6 by eventual champions from Morningside.
Meanwhile, Zaidh Zihar and Petr Kollar made a statement of their own, defeating a William Woods duo in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis, where they fell to Concordia.
In singles play, Batista advanced to the quarterfinals, highlighted by a big straight-set victory over Evangel, 7-5, 6-4. Haoda also impressed, dominating his first two matches to reach the round of 16 before falling to the seventh seed from McPherson.
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