COLLEGE PARK, Ga. – The Norfolk State women's tennis team captured the team championship at the 25th Annual ITA HBCU National Tennis Championships, finishing with 82 points to win by 18 over runner-up Howard at the South Fulton Tennis Center.
The Spartans won three individual titles across the weekend. Regina Urbiola took the Flight A singles crown and teamed with Yana Klimchuk to win Flight A doubles, while Irina Iurea captured the Flight C singles championship.
Alabama State placed third in the 11-team field with 59 points, followed by Jackson State (43) and Xavier (Louisiana) (41).
Urbiola, the No. 1 seed in Flight A, closed the week with a 6-1, 6-3 win over No. 7 seed Franchesca Brown (Howard) in Sunday morning's final. The senior from Querétaro, Mexico, survived two straight deciding tiebreaks to get there, edging No. 8 seed Kesmat El Tawil (Alabama State) 6-4, 1-6, [10-5] in the quarterfinals and Maja Brnic (Xavier Univ. of Louisiana) 6-0, 3-6, [10-5] in the semifinals after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Samira Khazieva (Hampton) in the Round of 16.
Iurea produced the run of the tournament in Flight C. Unseeded, the senior from Ploiesti, Romania, opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Amelia Tatafu (Alcorn), then upset No. 1 seed Lyric Wilson (Howard) 6-2, 6-0. She followed with a 6-1, 6-1 quarterfinal win over No. 8 seed Tiara Belen Alvarez (Jackson State) and outlasted No. 4 seed Rim Assanhaji (Alabama State) 1-6, 6-2, [11-9] in the semifinals. In Sunday's final, she beat Liou Souplet-Guerne (Alabama State) 6-2, 6-4.
Norfolk State clinched the Flight A doubles title Saturday morning, when the No. 2 seeds Urbiola and Klimchuk met top-seeded teammates Julia Daroszewska and Yuliya Yurkova in an all-Spartan championship match. Urbiola and Klimchuk won 7-5.
Both teams reached the final without dropping a match. Urbiola and Klimchuk beat Sanai LeSure and Anais Yakan (Xavier Univ. of Louisiana) 6-3, No. 7 seeds Alexia Campagna and Cleanne Pickel (Alabama State) 7-5, and Masa Mitic and Samira Khazieva (Hampton) 7-6(2). Daroszewska and Yurkova defeated Asadah Ma'at and Maja Brnic (Xavier Univ. of Louisiana) 6-3, No. 4 seeds Toffee Ghorab and Tanyaradzwa Midzi (Hampton) 6-2, and Victoria Linkovski and Helen Hernandez (Jackston State) 6-3.
Daroszewska added a Flight A singles quarterfinal run, rallying past Paula Corbalan (Jackston State) 5-7, 7-6(4), [10-8] before falling to eventual finalist Brown. Klimchuk and Yurkova each reached the Round of 16 in the same flight, Klimchuk losing 7-6(6), 6-3 to semifinalist Brnic and Yurkova 6-3, 6-4 to semifinalist Ivanna De Gregorio (Alcorn).
Elena Martinez Prado advanced to the Flight B Round of 16 with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Melis Sakiroglu (Hampton), and Ines Sabadie reached the same round in Flight C after beating Brielle Brade (Hampton) 6-1, 6-0. No. 3 seed Sabina Iurea lost a Flight B match tiebreak to Anais Yakan (Xavier Univ. of Louisiana) 2-6, 6-4, [11-9].
The Spartans return to action at the All-American Qualifying tournament in Cary, N.C., Sept. 21-22.
