SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (September 22, 2017) – The Vassar College women's tennis team had a great start in day one of action at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regionals, hosted by Skidmore College Friday afternoon. Vassar pushed three players into the Round of 16 in the singles draw, while both doubles pairs entered will play in the Round of 8 Saturday.
 
Senior Kate Christensen, who entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed, had no problems advancing into the third round despite having not played in two weeks due to illness. The former ITA Regional champion back in 2014 earned her first match 6-0, 6-2 over Jessica Tsai of Skidmore, followed by another straight set win over Brianna Ruback of Ithaca College 6-0, 6-2.
 
Christensen will take on Cornelia Kulle of New York University in the Round of 16, who was also a straight set winner in both of her matches Friday. One bracket up from Christensen was No. 5 seed Frances Cornwall of Vassar, who cruised to a pair of 6-2, 6-0 wins over Alex Wolkoff of the University of Rochester and Audrey Chor of Hamilton College. Cornwall will take on Erica Meno of Skidmore College Saturday in the Round of 16.
 
Vassar wasn't done putting players in the Round of 16, as sophomore Tara Edwards captured both of her day one matches to move into the third round. Edwards topped Alex Greenberg of William Smith 6-1, 6-0 to start the day, followed by a hard-fought 6-1, 4-6, 10-3 win over Emily Wyman of St. Lawrence to earn a matchup with No. 2 seed Sneha Rangu of The College of New Jersey.
 
Senior Courtney Geiss nearly made it four members of the Vassar team in the Round of 16, as she went 1-1 on the day. Geiss nailed down her first test of the day with an exciting victory over Michaelann Denton of William Smith. In the match, Geiss shook off a first-set tie-breaker loss to earn the second set 6-3. Using that momentum, she picked up the tie-breaker to earn a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 10-6 triumph.
 
In the next round, Geiss took on seeded player Renee Karchere-Sun of Skidmore, playing another grueling three set affair. In this match, Geiss earned the first set with a 7-6 (3) win, controlling the tie-breaker. The senior wouldn't be able to keep it going though, as Karchere-Sun ralled for the 6-7 (3), 7-5, 10-5 win.
 
Freshman Sarra Yekta was a late addition to the singles draw Friday morning, and was knocked off by Cornwall's Saturday opponent Meno in another three-setter, falling 7-5, 5-7, 11-9 in a heartbreaker. Fellow newcomer Meghan Rodick also would fall in the first round in yet another three-set match. Rodick shook off an opening set loss to earn the second-set 6-4. In the super tiebreaker, Rodick was just outlasted by NYU's Kate Shaffer 10-8.
 
In doubles action, Vassar continued to shine as it sent both of its pairings through to the quarterfinals. In round one, Cornwall and Rodick topped Taylor Ginestro and Hannah Kasoff of Ithaca College 8-2 to set up a date with the Skidmore pair of Laura Swenson and Alexa Goldberg.
 
The freshman duo wouldn't be tested, as Rodick and Cornwall matched their first-round score of 8-2 to move into Round of 8. The newcomers will battle No. 4 seed Anna Maria Buraya and Judy Kam of NYU Saturday.
 
VC's other pair of Yekta and Edwards were seeded No. 3 in the doubles draw, and played well all day Friday. The two started play with an 8-2 victory over Claire Casalnova and Kristen Zablonski of RIT, and moved into the third round with a victory over Jessica Ampel and Jackie Ahn of Skidmore College. Yekta and Edwards will battle Kulle and Flyora Shiyanova from NYU to start Saturday's doubles play.
 
Action will start Saturday at 9 a.m. with the Round of 16 singles, along with consolation play. The doubles draw will follow the quarterfinal round of singles play in the afternoon. The doubles bracket will play all the way down to a pair of teams on Saturday, while four will remain after the finish of singles in day two.