Scarlet Knights Post Impressive Showing at USTA Invitational
Oct 13 | Women's Tennis
NEW YORK, N.Y. – For the first time in school history, the Rutgers women's tennis team placed four participants into the semifinal rounds of the USTA Invitational, held at the National Tennis Center in New York City. The duo of Morgan Ivey (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and Christine Tran (Centreville, Va.) advanced to the finals in their doubles flight.
The 18-team event included six schools that were nationally-ranked last season.
"This was a tremendous team effort against some of the best teams in the country at one of the premier outdoor tennis facilities," said head coach Ben Bucca. "It was great to play in arguably one of the greatest cities in the world and our girls showed that they belonged with the best."
In four doubles flights, RU had three teams advance to the semifinals, which marks a first in school history. In first flight doubles action, Polina Zarester (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Jennifer Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) reached the semifinals in the main draw, while the duo of Katherine Arlak (Leonia, N.J.) and Maryana Milchutskey (Holmdel, N.J.) accomplished the same feat at third flight doubles.
Freshman Maryana Milchutskey (Holmdel, N.J.) had RU's best singles showing, advancing to the semifinals at fifth flight singles. Sophomore Amy Zhang (Plano, Texas) and Leonora Slatnick (Austin, Texas) each won two of their three singles matches for the Scarlet Knights.
"This was by far our most competitive performance at this tournament," said Bucca. "It reaffirms the tremendous improvement our program has made. Congratulations to all the girls for their effort this weekend."
The Scarlet Knights will wrap up their fall slate Friday Oct. 24-26 at the ITA Regionals. The event will take place in Philadelphia, Pa.
