SAN DIEGO, California – University of Iowa sophomore Alexa Noel advanced to the semifinals at the ITA Fall National Championships after defeating Princeton’s Reilly Tran and South Carolina’s Sarah Hamner on Friday afternoon.
The All-American started Friday’s play with a gritty win again Tran in Round 16. Noel lost the first set, 4-6, but rallied back in the second to win 7-5. She kept the momentum in the third set to win 6-1.
Noel turned around to face Hamner in the quarterfinals. The sophomore started on a roll winning the first set, 6-0. Hamner battled back to win the second set 6-2. The third set was back and forth action, but Noel won in a third-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-1)
“We are so incredibly proud of Alexa and the battle she had,” said Head Coach Sasha Schmid. “She had two hard incredibly fought matches against elite players, and she was tenacious and courageous. She fought and fought and fought and that is just an attribute to the type of tennis player she is. She has gotten herself in an incredible position and now there are only four players left.”
Noel will face USC’s Eryn Cayetano in the Semifinals. For all tournament information visit: https://colleges.wearecollegetennis.com/Competitions/ITA/Tournaments/overview/3C0D3BF7-1EA0-4314-9798-02FE691DD86E. Live streaming/scoring can be found via Tennis Tracker, which link can be found on the tournament website.