Tennis Advances Three to Round of 64 at ITA Regional Championships
Oct 19 | Women's Tennis
Cochrane, Du and Muzik all win gritty three-setters in opening round
PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 19, 2017) – Senior Mingxiu Du and sophomores Jaci Cochrane and Kat Muzik advanced to the Round of 64 at the ITA Northeast Regional Championships as Rutgers tennis wrapped up Day 2 at the tournament at UPenn on Thursday.
All three Scarlet Knights won their first round matches in dramatic fashion, with the trio of matches all going three sets, and two of them coming behind for the win. Rutgers' two doubles teams each won an opening round match before bowing out in the second round. Freshman Maya Jacobs was up a set, and up 3-2 in the second before needing to retire due to injury, sending LIU-Brooklyn's Anna Grigoryan to the next round.
One day after qualifying for the main singles draw with back-to-back three-set victories, Cochrane was at it again on Thursday to stay alive at the top half of the bracket. Cochrane won the first set, 6-3, over Tiffany Chen of Princeton before falling 6-1 in the second. The final stanza was neck-and-neck to the very end, and even the traditional tiebreaker with the first to seven points, win by two, was not enough. The Rutgers sophomore advanced with an 8-6 tiebreaker triumph for the 7-6 set win, and the trip to the Round of 64. She will face Tanja Stojanovska from Buffalo on Friday.
Du won her opening round match in comeback fashion over Melanie Allen of Army. Du needed a rally after dropping the first set 6-1, and answered with resounding 6-2, 6-3 wins in the second and third to take the match. The senior advances to meet Princeton's Katrine Steffensen, a seeded player given a first round bye.
Muzik also needed three sets after dropping the first, 6-4, to Drexel's Mya Fuentes. Muzik stormed back for 6-4, 6-3 victories down the stretch to move on to the second round, where Syracuse's Miranda Ramirez awaits following an opening round bye and the second overall seed in the singles draw.
Du and Cochrane combined for an 8-2 victory over Army, before exiting the draw following an 8-6 loss to Boston College. Prior to Jacobs' injury, she teamed with Muzik for the 8-5 win over UMass, but ultimately faced elimination with an 8-3 setback against Dartmouth in the second round.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers tennis, follow the program on Twitter (@Rutgerstennis) and Instagram (@RutgersTennis). The team is also on Facebook (facebook.com/RutgersTennis).
All three Scarlet Knights won their first round matches in dramatic fashion, with the trio of matches all going three sets, and two of them coming behind for the win. Rutgers' two doubles teams each won an opening round match before bowing out in the second round. Freshman Maya Jacobs was up a set, and up 3-2 in the second before needing to retire due to injury, sending LIU-Brooklyn's Anna Grigoryan to the next round.
One day after qualifying for the main singles draw with back-to-back three-set victories, Cochrane was at it again on Thursday to stay alive at the top half of the bracket. Cochrane won the first set, 6-3, over Tiffany Chen of Princeton before falling 6-1 in the second. The final stanza was neck-and-neck to the very end, and even the traditional tiebreaker with the first to seven points, win by two, was not enough. The Rutgers sophomore advanced with an 8-6 tiebreaker triumph for the 7-6 set win, and the trip to the Round of 64. She will face Tanja Stojanovska from Buffalo on Friday.
Du won her opening round match in comeback fashion over Melanie Allen of Army. Du needed a rally after dropping the first set 6-1, and answered with resounding 6-2, 6-3 wins in the second and third to take the match. The senior advances to meet Princeton's Katrine Steffensen, a seeded player given a first round bye.
Muzik also needed three sets after dropping the first, 6-4, to Drexel's Mya Fuentes. Muzik stormed back for 6-4, 6-3 victories down the stretch to move on to the second round, where Syracuse's Miranda Ramirez awaits following an opening round bye and the second overall seed in the singles draw.
Du and Cochrane combined for an 8-2 victory over Army, before exiting the draw following an 8-6 loss to Boston College. Prior to Jacobs' injury, she teamed with Muzik for the 8-5 win over UMass, but ultimately faced elimination with an 8-3 setback against Dartmouth in the second round.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers tennis, follow the program on Twitter (@Rutgerstennis) and Instagram (@RutgersTennis). The team is also on Facebook (facebook.com/RutgersTennis).
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