ROME, Ga. (May 6, 2025) – The University of North Alabama women's tennis team continues postseason action on Wednesday, May 7, set to face the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in the opening round of the UTR Sports NIT Tournament in Rome, Ga.
This marks the first postseason appearance for UNA women's tennis since moving to Division I. UNA will play Middle Tennessee in the first round.
UNA is set to compete against a field of eight teams representing six conferences, including Charlotte, Washington State, Appalachian State, MTSU, North Texas, Northern Illinois, and Saint Mary's College of California.
Held at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College, North Alabama will face the Blue Raiders at 2 p.m. CT for fans following along in the Shoals. The winner will advance to face the winner of Charlotte and Saint Mary's in the semifinals, concluding with the final on Saturday, May 9.
The matches will have live stats courtesy of iOnCourt, with a live streaming options available through PlaySight. Fans can create a free account to watch all the action during the tournament.
Full results and a recap will be posted on RoarLions.com following each day, but fans can also follow along on the UNA Tennis social media pages.
DUAL INFO
UTR Sports NIT Championship – First Round
Matchup: North Alabama vs. Middle Tennessee State
Date: Friday, May 2
Time: 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET
Location: Rome, Ga.
Venue: Rome Tennis Center
Live Stats: iOnCourt (RoarLions.com)
Live Video: PlaySight (RoarLions.com)
Social Media: @UNATennis
NOTES
ABOUT THE NIT CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Lions will be playing in the third rendition of the NIT Championships. It marks the second-straight appearance for North Alabama, with the men's team earning a bid in the 2024 UTR NIT. Tulsa won the men's and women's titles in 2024. Liberty Men's Tennis and TCU Women's Tennis also won the inaugural competition in 2023.
LAST TIME OUT: The women's tennis team's last outing saw the Lions compete against the Stetson Hatters in the ASUN Tournament Final on April 19. North Alabama came short of the title, falling to the top-seeded Hatters, 4-2. Junior Lena Karlovcan and sophomore Mathilde Delaney led the Lions with respective singles wins, but Stetson's doubles-point win and three singles victories led to the Hatters taking the title.
AWARDS GALORE: The Atlantic Sun Conference announced the 2025 postseason awards for women's tennis on April 16, highlighted by individual honors for two Lions. Head Coach Olaya Garrido-Rivas was named the ASUN's Co-Coach of the Year with Stetson's Travis Sandlant, earning the program's first Division I Coach of the Year honor and first since Kevin Bradford in 1992 (Gulf South Conference). Senior Stanislava Bobrovnikova was named to the conference All-Academic Team, along with a First Team selection. Bobrovnikova and junior Eeva Ristola rounded out the postseason awards winning the program's first ASUN Double Pair of the Year honor.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: North Alabama owns an 18-5 record with a 7-2 record in ASUN competition. The Lions look to add a third postseason victory to their season tally, earning two in the conference tournament from April 17-19. On the season, UNA is 36-18 in doubles play and 78-37 in singles. Four players have over 10 wins in doubles, led by junior Eeva Ristola (17), Bobrovnikova (14) and a two-way tie between sophomores Ada Karabacak and Delaney (11). Karabacak leads all players in singles victories with 16, followed by Bobrovnikova (14), Delaney (13), junior Senem Ocal (13) and Ristola (12).
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE: The Blue Raiders enter the postseason matchup sporting a 17-8 record. The last outing saw Middle Tennessee compete in the Conference USA Championship Tournament, defeating Jacksonville State in the first round, 4-0, before falling to Louisiana Tech in the semifinals, 4-1. Middle Tennessee wins its doubles matches at a 63.3 percent rate with a 38-22 record, as well as a 61.9 percent win rate in singles play (70-43). Rutuja Chaphalkar leads the team with 16 doubles victories, with Chaphalkar and doubles partner Alessia Truden sporting the team high in pair wins (14-3 record). Ilaria Sposetti holds the team high in singles wins with a 13-6 record. Middle Tennessee earned three All-Conference USA honors in Truden (First Team Singles/Second Team Doubles), Cassidy Mataia (Second Team Singles) and Chaphalkar (Second Team Doubles). The Blue Raiders' head coach is Tayo Bailey-Duvall.
SERIES HISTORY: North Alabama and Middle Tennessee meet for the second all-time matchup, with the Blue Raiders taking the lone 2019 bout, 7-0.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
