TYLER, Texas – St. Mary's University Women's Tennis seniors Madalyn Smelley and Selina Wu finished as the runners-up in doubles at the ITA South Central Regional over the weekend, while three singles players advanced to the Round of 16, and both doubles teams in the consolation finals were Rattlers.
 
"I think we made a big improvement over last year at this time," said Director of Tennis Bill Macom. "Team chemistry was great on this trip, which is always a difference maker. All of the girls played at a high level for multiple rounds and everyone should be proud of each other."
 
Smelley, from Ocean Springs, Miss., and Wu, from San Gabriel, Calif., seeded eighth, played an extremely close finals match against fifth-seeded Maria Antonio Ortega and Yona Bancarel from host UT Tyler, falling 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, [8-10]. During the five matches, the Rattlers duo had one blowout and won four close matches, including knocking out the top-seeded pair from Angelo State of Benedetta Raggiotti and Margaux Rene, 8-6, in the quarterfinals.
 
Junior transfers Allison Blanco (Alajuela, Costa Rica) and Shiori Takedo (Sydney, Australia) were seeded sixth in doubles, but dropped their opening bout to a pair from UT Permian Basin, 9-7. The two bounced back to win their next four matches in the consolation draw to bring home the title. They knocked off teammates Ilona Hernandez Sanchez (Zoetermeer, South Holland) and Breeze Simon (Dallas) in the finals, while Hernandez Sanchez and Simon defeated teammates Isabella Olsson (Sverige, Sweden) and Sarah Wooten (Beaumont, Texas) in the semfinals, as the Rattlers had three of the four teams in the consolation semifinals.
 
In singles play, Hernandez Sanchez, seeded 13th, Olsson and Wu all reached the round of 16, but all three were ousted in three sets.
 
Smelley and Wu have qualified for ITA Division II Doubles Championship hosted in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Nov. 4-8. The Rattlers will host the annual Alumni Match on Saturday, Oct. 31 and the following morning will host the fundraising Rattlers Pro/Am Doubles tournament at Rohrbach Tennis Stadium.
 
SINGLES
Allison Blanco (1-1)
Round of 64: def. Dinethya Dharmaratne, UTPB 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), [10-6]
Round of 32: lost to #4 Emilia Gyorgy, MSU 3-6, 3-6
 
#13 Ilona Hernandez Sanchez (2-1)
Round of 64: def. Naghely Garcia Galian, LCU 6-1, 6-3
Round of 32: def. Sheryl Gerald, UTD 6-1, 6-3
Round of 16: lost to #7 Camila Garcia Morales, MSU 4-6, 6-2, 1-6
 
Isabella Olsson (2-1)
Round of 64: def. Aroa Ajenjo Gomez, MSU 6-2, 6-4
Round of 32: def. #11 Danaiya Amangazhiyeva, ASU 3-6, 7-5, [10-8]
Round of 16: lost to #6 Andrea De Bernardo, LCU 2-6, 6-4, 0-6
 
Breeze Simon (1-1)
Round of 64: def. Namrata Makhija, UTD 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
Round of 32: lost to #12 Kristel Jativa, LCU 3-6, 4-6
 
#14 Madalyn Smelley (0-2)
Round of 64: lost to Anastasia Melnikova, ASU 6-1, 4-6, [12-14]
Consolation Round of 32: lost to Jasmine Crain, MSU 3-6, 1-6
 
Shiori Takeda (1-1)
Round of 64: def. Presley Churchman, UTD 6-3, 6-1
Round of 32: lost to #15 Alessia Dolce, MSU 6-3, 2-6, [4-10]
 
Sarah Wooten (1-1)
Round of 64: def. Paige Sitanggang, UTPB 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), [10-3]
Round of 32: lost to #3 Margaux Rene, ASU, 4-6, 0-6
 
#5 Selina Wu (2-1)
Round of 64: def. Gabriela Franco, LCU 6-1, 6-0
Round of 32: def. Hailey Zhang, UTT, 6-2, 6-2
Round of 16: lost to #10 Victoria Vieten, MSU 7-5, 2-6, 4-6
 
DOUBLES
#6 Blanco and Takeda (4-1)
Round of 32: lost to Dinethya Dharmaratne and Paige Sitanggang, UTPB 7-9
Consolation Round of 16: def. Lina Mueller and Josefina Bailetti, WNMU 8-3
Cons. Quarterfinals: def. Fanny Bergstrom and Alice Bolton, UTPB 8-3
Cons. Semifinals: def. Namrata Makhija and Presley Churchman, UTD 8-4
Cons. Final: def. Hernandez Sanchez and Simon, StMU 8-7 (7-2)
 
Hernandez Sanchez and Simon (3-2)
Round of 32: lost to Nil Kalkavan and Marie-Alix Urcun, CU, 7-9
Consolation Round of 16: def. Eva Guta and Catherine Ndeko, WNMU 8-4
Cons. Quarterfinals: def. Sheryl Gerard and Gianna Graci, UTD 8-3
Cons. Semifinals: def. Olsson and Wooten, StMU 9-7
Cons. Final: lost to Blanco and Takeda, StMU 7-8 (2-7)
 
Olsson and Wooten (2-2)
Round of 32: lost to Vaslissa Kupriyanova and Jade Bestango, ASU 1-8
Consolation Round of 16: def. Alyssa Glasgow and Sophia Crosby, UTPB 8-2
Cons. Quarterfinals: def. Isabelle Gidlof and Aroa Ajenjo Gomez, MSU 8-6
Cons. Semifinals: lost Hernandez Sanchez and Simon, StMU 7-9
 
#8 Smelley and Wu (4-1)
Round of 32: def. Namrata Makhija and Presley Churchman, UTD 8-6
Round of 16: def. Hailey Zhang and Emily Ryan, UTT 8-3
Quarterfinals: def. #1 Benedetta Raggiotti and Margaux Rene, ASU 8-6
Semifinals: def. Naghely Garcia Galian and Lili Kovacs-Sebestyen, LCU 1-6, 6-2, [10-5]
Finals: lost to Maria Antonio Ortega and Yona Bancarel, UTT 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, [8-10]