Day three of the NJCAA Division I National Tennis Championships took out two more of the 11th ranked Barton Community College women's tennis team members as Angelina Gnezdilova stands as the lone survivor headed into day four in Tucson, Arizona.
Gnezdilova, who dropped her opening No. 1 flight match on Saturday, had a day of rest from singles play on Sunday before getting back to the swing of things today. Beginning her Consolation side of the bracket bright and early this morning, the 12th ranked Cougar dispatched Tanyaradzwa Kaome of Mississippi Gulf Coast 8-3 in the Quarterfinals. Returning to the court early afternoon, Gnezdilova again won by the same 8-3 commanding score over Laura Coulome of Eastern Arizona College to earn her second straight Consolation Finals berth as last year she rolled to the No. 4 flight back draw title. Standing in her way of a second title is Italia Jones of Wallace State as the two will tangle at 9:30 a.m. central time on Tuesday.
Clara Penido and Azul Barrios were Barton's last survivors of the Championship side of the bracket as each won two matches headed into today's Quarterfinals.
Pulling off a No. 2 flight national ranking upset on Sunday, 36th ranked and 8th seeded Penido's second bid to end a competitor's season was handled by Destinee Martins of Tyler Junior College as the top seed and nationally 2nd ranked Apache marched on to the Semifinals with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
Barrios was looking for revenge in the No. 4 flight, matching up against Region VI foe Saara Kunkunova of Cowley College who defeated the Cougar in three sets back on April 12. However in Monday's desert plains it wasn't Barrios' day as the 3rd seed and 30th nationally ranked Tiger advanced to the Semifinals with twin 6-2 set victories.
As a team, Barton's strong start atop the standings slipped to tenth after day two and will conclude its final day on Tuesday in hopes of its second straight top ten national finish.
Monday's Barton Singles Results:
No. 1 Singles: Consolation Quarterfinals - #12 Angelina Gnezdilova def. Tanyaradzwa Kaome (Mississippi Gulf Coast) 8-3; Consolation Semifinals – def. Laura Coulome (Eastern Arizona College) 8-3; Next: Championship match at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday
No. 2 Singles: Quarterfinals - 8th seeded and #36 Clara Penido lost to top seeded and #2 Destinee Martins (Tyler JC) 6-1, 6-3; Season Complete
No. 4 Singles: Quarterfinals - 6th seeded Azul Barrios lost to 3rd seeded and #30 Saara Kunkunova (Cowley College) 6-2, 6-2; Season Complete
Follow all results of the 2022 NJCAA Division I National Tennis Championships