Baptista Secures Singles Championship at Beach Tennis Fall Tournament

Friday, October 6

Long Beach, Calif.

Boise State

Beach Tennis Fall Tournament

The Boise State women's tennis team huddled together.

Baptista Secures Singles Championship at Beach Tennis Fall Tournament

10/8/2023 6:43:00 PM | Women's Tennis

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Joana Baptista earned a championship singles victory in the top flight at the Beach Tennis Fall Tournament in Long Beach, Calif., Sunday.

Baptista cruised through the Black Draw, starting off with a win over Long Beach State's Paulina Franco-Martinessi (3-6, 6-4, 6-2) before defeating Kayla Meraz from UC Irvine (3-6, 6-2, 7-5). In the finals, she faced off against Rhona Cook of Long Beach State, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Bhakti Shah also had a strong showing in the White Draw, claiming a third-place finish. Shah started off with a win over Vito Solis Urdiales of CSUN before falling to Justine Dondonay (Long Beach State) 6-2, 7-6(5) in the semifinals. The junior bounced back in the match for third place, defeating Diana Yanotovskaya from Cal State Fullerton (6-2, 6-4).

Freshman Ella Piron secured a fourth-place finish at the event. In the Grey Draw, Piron defeated Emily Fowler of UC Irvine (6-2, 7-5) to qualify for the semifinals. She then lost to Cal State Fullerton's Mariia Nikitash (6-3, 6-4) and UC Irvine's Cydney Yamamoto (1-6, 7-5, 6-3).

Top Broncos

Joana Baptista went undefeated in singles over the tournament and won the top flight. She now boasts an 8-2 singles record this season.

Notables

Baptista earned two doubles wins on the weekend, moving past her assistant coach Megan LaLone on the program's all-time doubles win list. The senior currently sits No. 15 on the list with 63 career victories.

Quotables

"It was a really solid weekend for us overall," head coach Beck Roghaar said. "Joana winning the title in the top flight is a huge accomplishment. She played so well throughout the weekend. She was pushed and challenged and had to come up with the right mindset at a lot of different moments in matches."
"When the players compete the way they did down here, it allows us to hone in on the other areas that we need to focus on and help them maximize their potential," Roghaar said. "I'm just really excited for what that means for us heading into this next week and a half before we go down to regionals."

What's Next

The Broncos will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, to compete in the ITA Mountain Region Championships, Oct. 18-22.

Full Results
Doubles
Black Draw
QF. Peppi Ramstedt/Rhonda Cook (Long Beach State) def. Ariadna Briones Ginesta/Shauna Heffernan (Boise State) 7-6 (3)
QF. Jenna Schlatter/Kayla Meraz (UC Irvine) def. Joana Baptista/Ana Conde Vendrell (Boise State) 6-0
Cons SF. Ariadna Briones Ginesta/Shauna Heffernan (Boise State) def. Carolyna Fowler/Emily Fowler (UC Irvine) 6-0
Cons SF. Joana Baptista/Ana Conde Vendrell (Boise State) def. Vitoria Solis Urdiales/Cindy Ung (CSUN) 6-4
Cons F. Joana Baptista/Ana Conde Vendrell (Boise State) def. Carolyn Fowler/Emily Fowler (UC Irvine) 6-1
Cons F. Ariadna Briones Ginesta/Shauna Heffernan (Boise State) def. Vitoria Solis Urdiales/Cindy Ung (CSUN) 6-4

Gold Draw
QF. Tallia Harper/Emma Moratalla Sanz (CSUN) def. Bhakti Shah/Ella Piron (Boise State) 6-2
Cons SF. Bhakti Shah/Ella Piron (Boise State) def. Haily Huynh/Mikaela Hinton (UC Irvine) 6-1
Cons F. Diana Yanotovskaya/Mariia Nikitash (Cal State Fullerton) def. Bhakti Shah/Ella Piron (Boise State) 7-6(5)

Singles
Black Draw
QF. Jenna Schlatter (UC Irvine) def. Shauna Heffernan (Boise State) 6-4, 6-3
QF. Joana Baptista (Boise State) def. Paulina Franco-Martinessi (Long Beach State) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
SF. Joana Baptista (Boise State) def. Kayla Meraz (UC Irvine) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
Cons SF. Shauna Heffernan (Boise State) def. Emma Moratalla Sanz (CSUN) 7-6(5), 6-4
F. Joana Baptista (Boise State) def. Rhona Cook (Long Beach State) 6-1, 6-1
Cons F. Shauna Heffernan (Boise State) def. Seha Yu (Cal State Fullerton) 6-3, 6-3

Gold Draw
QF. Ana Conde Vendrell (Boise State) def. Peppi Ramstedt (Long Beach State) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
QF. Milena Gevorgyan (Cal State Fullerton) def. Ariadna Briones Ginesta (Boise State) 6-0, 6-2
SF. Talia Harper (CSUN) def. Ana Conde Vendrell (Boise State) 7-5, 6-3
Cons SF. Amanda Perez (UC Irvine) def. Ariadna Briones Ginesta (Boise State) 6-3, 7-5
PLF. Sarah Medik (Long Beach State) def. Ana Conde Vendrell (Boise State) 6-3, 6-3
Cons FQ. Ariadna Briones Ginesta (Boise State) def. Asha Gidwani (UC Irvine) 6-3, 6-3

White Draw
QF. Bhakti Shah (Boise State) def. Vito Solis Urdiales (CSUN) 3-2, retired
SF. Justine Dondonay (Long Beach State) def. Bhakti Shah (Boise State) 6-2, 7-6(5)
PLF. Bhakti Shah (Boise State) def. Diana Yanotovskaya (Cal State Fullerton) 6-2, 6-4

Grey Draw
QF. Ella Piron (Boise State) def. Emily Fowler (UC Irvine) 6-2, 7-5
SF. Mariia Nikitash (Cal State Fullerton) def. Ella Piron (Boise State) 6-3, 6-4
PLF. Cydney Yamamoto (UC Irvine) def. Ella Piron (Boise State) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3

Red Draw
SF. Mathilde Tranberg (Long Beach State) def. Ryan Kershner (Boise State) 6-1, 6-2
Cons F. Ryan Kershner (Boise State) def. Nour Khayat (UC Irvine) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
EX. Jasmine Tolmoyan (CSUN) def. Ryan Kershner 6-3, 6-1