Cornell freshman Chloe Fouhety will try to earn a place in the NCAA Singles Championships this week while four of her women’s tennis teammates close out their fall schedules at the UB Indoor Invite in Buffalo.
Fouhety plays in the ITA Sectional Championships, hosted by Penn in Philadelphia from Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 5-8, according to Cornell’s tournament preview. The sectional semifinalists and two quarterfinal playoff winners advance to the NCAA tournament Nov. 17-22 in Athens, Georgia.
The freshman enters with an 8-1 singles record. All eight of her victories have come in straight sets, giving her a strong start as she reaches the next stage of fall postseason competition.
Her only loss came in the quarterfinals of the ITA New England Regional, where Syracuse’s Monika Wojcik won 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Fouhety reached that round by winning five matches, including two in qualifying and three in the main draw.
Senior Martina Marica and freshmen Tanika Saravanan, Athena Orzechowski and Martha Thompson will represent Cornell in Buffalo on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7. Marica leads that group with a 4-1 singles record and has won two consecutive matches, both decided by match tiebreakers against Duquesne at the UTR Sports College Circuit at West Virginia.
Saravanan is 4-2 in singles after reaching the semifinals at West Virginia. Thompson is 3-1, with an opening qualifying victory at the ITA New England Regional among her fall results. Orzechowski is 2-3 and will try to end a three-match losing streak; all three defeats have gone to a third set.
Cornell also brings a successful young doubles pairing. Saravanan and Thompson are 2-0 together, and each has a 4-1 overall doubles record. Orzechowski is 3-2 in doubles, while Marica is 3-3.
Friday’s session begins at 2 p.m. Cornell’s schedule includes one doubles match against Buffalo, two against Syracuse, three singles matches against Buffalo and one against Syracuse. Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. session calls for two doubles matches and four singles matches against Buffalo. St. John’s also is part of the tournament field.
The split schedule gives Fouhety a chance to extend her fall into the national championship while the Buffalo group adds singles and doubles competition before Cornell turns toward the next part of its season.
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