Columbia women’s tennis has strong showing in All-American Invitational

After last week’s All-American Invitational, the women’s tennis team got back to full team play. The Lions had an impressive weekend at the National Tennis Center’s Invitational in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., with wins at multiple levels.

Junior Nicole Bartnik won her first match through default when competitor Tanvi Shah of North Carolina State was injured. She advanced to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Valentina Starkova of the University of Arkansas. After losing an extremely close first set 7-6, Bartnik fell in the second set 6-4.

Sophomore Bianca Sanon competed in the Open Singles B Draw. Sanon won both of her matches against seeded players. In the semifinals, she defeated third-seed Harvard junior Camille Jania in the third set 12-10 after losing the second set 7-5. In the finals, Sanon had a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Brown sophomore Jessica Harrow. These two matches provided Sanon with a glimpse of future Ivy League play in the upcoming season.

In the Open Singles F Draw, freshman Adel Arshavskaia went into competition as the number one seed. She advanced all the way to the finals, where she fell to Barbara Vykydalova of North Texas, 6-2, 6-3.

Freshman Crystal Leung and Bartnik paired up for the Open Doubles A Draw as an unseeded duo. They found success on the courts and won the event. Bartnik and Leung defeated Boston College’s Erina Kikuchi and Jess Wasnik, 8-6.

The Lions will now have a break in their invitational schedule, and will compete once more at the ITA Regionals in New Haven, Conn. on Oct. 21.