Brunswick, Maine - The Colby Women's Tennis team began their 2024-25 fall season over the weekend at the ITA Regional Tournament hosted by Bowdoin College. The tournament featured many of the best players from across the northeast region. The Mules were well-represented with 4 players in the A singles draw, 4 players in the B singles draw, and 4 doubles teams in the 48-team doubles draw.

Early success emerged Friday morning for the Mules, with 3 doubles teams advancing to the second round. Junior captain Amelie Gal paired up with first-year Waka Aida defeating MIT opponents 8-6 in a thrilling comeback win. They were then defeated by the #1 seeds from Babson in the round of 32. Sophomore tandem Jade Finestone and Michaela Landry cruised into the second round with an 8-2 win before falling to Middlebury opponents. Junior captain Isabella Suk and first-year Ella Novion had a strong start to the tournament, defeating Brandeis opponents 8-4 before losing a heartbreaker to Tufts opponents 7-8 (8). 

In singles play, Colby freshmen Ella Novion and Waka Aida had thrilling wins in the A draw. Novion took down her Williams opponent 6-2, 7-5 before losing to the #8 seed from Bowdoin. Aida showed great mental strength, defeating her MIT opponent 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 (7). Aida then fell to Babson opponent and #1 overall seed in the round of 32. In the B singles draw, many Mules found success as well. Junior captains Isabella Suk and Amelie Gal each reached the round of 16 with impressive wins over tough competition. First-year Anna Rende also had a strong start to her Colby singles career, taking down Trinity and Middlebury opponents convincingly, before losing to Amherst opponent in the third round. 

Colby head coach Erin Reeves commented on the weekend, saying, "We had a good weekend at ITA's, in both singles and doubles we won a bunch of first round matches against some really good teams. It was fun to watch our first years compete and we are excited for our next invite in a few weeks!"

The Mules will return to Brunswick for their next competition at the Polar Bear Invite starting Saturday, October 5th.