ORLANDO – The Cameron women's tennis team returns to the NCAA Division II National Championship for the second consecutive season; they will square off against the University of Charleston (W. Va.) on Friday morning at the USTA National Campus (Collegiate Center).
The Aggies are looking for their first win at the national tournament since 2016, where they beat California (Pa.) in the first round, winning 5-2, before losing to Hawaii Pacific 5-1 in the quarterfinals.
CU will face an unfamiliar foe as this will mark the first meeting against the eighth-seeded Golden Eagles Friday in the opening round match that starts at 8:00 am EDT.
The Black-and-Gold head into the national championship as the No. 9 seed after winning the Lone Star Conference regular season championship and heading into the South Central Regional as the No. 1-seed, where they beat rival Midwestern State 4-1 back on May 1, to punch their ticket to Orlando.
Cameron has compiled a 16-3 overall record and 9-1 in LSC play, while Charleston was 6-0 in the Mountain East and went 21-1 this season.
The Aggies are led by the LSC Coach of the Year, Josh Cobble, and come into the national championship as the 11th-ranked team, while Vasilisa Polunova is the 23rd-ranked individual, and Anastasia Uspenskaia ranks 34th. The team of Polunova and Uspenskaia are slated the 25th best doubles with an 11-3 record at one.
Kateryna Rudenko and Polunova head into Friday with a double-digit win streak. Rudenko has a record of 13-2 and has won 12 straight, and Polunova has been victorious in 11 consecutive matches and holds a 14-3 record at No. 1 singles. Freshman Jenna Goessel has a record of 10-6 in her first campaign in the Black-and-Gold.
Cameron did not have a player with a losing record this season, as Uspenskaia went 9-4 at No. 2, Lea Manga was 7-7, mainly at No. 3, and Magda Wawarowska went 7-4 at six. In doubles, at two, Manga and Karolina Glowinska went 9-5, and Goessel and Wawarowska were 8-4 at No. 3.
Ranked No. 20 as a team, the Golden Eagles has one player ranked in singles, as Prinkle Singh is ranked No. 25 and is 28-2 this spring at No. 1.
Live scoring is available for the entirety of the tournament courtesy of Rollins College sports information. Should the Aggies beat UC, they would play in the Elite 8 match on Saturday at 4:00 pm EDT. Additionally, the semifinal is scheduled for Monday at 4:00 pm, and the National Championship will take place Tuesday at 6:00 pm.
