CLINTON, NY - It was a solid opening day of action for the Vassar women's tennis team, competing at the 2022 ITA Northeast Regional Championships, hosted by Hamilton College. The Brewers saw a number of strong performances on day one, including two singles players and two doubles teams advancing into Saturday's Round of 16.

Action got going on day one with doubles play as junior Sofie Shen and rookie Iris Li shouldered a narrow 8-7 (7-4) loss to the RPI duo of Nicole Ridenour and Lorna Flores Gonzalez in the opening round. Senior Tatum Blalock and rookie Erin McCusker squared off against Skidmore's Konika Dhull and Beilynn Geiss as VC delivered an 8-5 victory. Sophomores Macey Dowd and Elyse Duley rounded out the efforts, advancing to the Round of 16 with an 8-5 win against Union's Grace Nicol and Marilena Karadimou.

Saturday's action, which begins at 9am will see Dowd and Duley take on Skidmore's Ella Provost and Grace Truong, while Blalock and McCusker will battle NYU's Anastasiia Balyk and Jimena Menendez. Shen and Li will play in the consolation doubles on Saturday as well.

Singles action in the main draw was a flurry of activity as Shen recorded an opening 6-2, 6-2 win against Geneseo's Alexandra Galle. She moved on to the Round of 32, facing off against the tournament's top-seeded player in Rochester's Josephine Libby, falling by a 6-3, 6-1 margin. Dowd opened action with a strong 6-3, 6-2 win over Skidmore's Katherine Almquist, but her next round match-up against Ithaca's Taylor Crain saw the sophomore fall by a hard-fought 6-0, 2-6, 6-10 score. Both will now play in the consolation singles round on Saturday.

Duley posted an opening round win over Neha Dania of Rochester with a 6-4, 6-4 score, but she fell in the next round by a tough 1-6, 5-7 margin to NYU's Balyk. Li was next into the win column in singles, posting a 4-6, 6-4, 10-5 victory over Rochester's Sanjana Kamam, while McCusker posted a 6-1, 6-2 win against TCNJ's Alexa Vasile to advance. The two Brewers rookies played one another in the Round of 32 with McCusker advancing to Saturday's Round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Li. She will now ace NYU's Adi Narayan at 10:45am.

Blalock rounded out the main draw efforts, opening with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Skidmore's Truong. She advanced to play Union's Gabriella Gatto, earning a 6-3, 6-2 victory and a spot in Saturday's Round of 16 where she'll face NYU's Dakota Fordham at 10:45am.

The Brewers also saw several players in B draw action at this year's championships. Senior Jade Wilkinson posted an 8-0 win over Geneseo's Paolino. Rookie Maya Thompson bested NYU's Chang by an 8-4 margin, while classmate Ananya Krishnan was an 8-1 winner over Ithaca's Chelnick to advance in the B draw.