Hlahola and and Zholdakova Advance to Quarterfinals at ITA Regionals

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont University women's tennis team's top doubles tandem of sophomore Mariia Hlahola and junior Anastasiya Zholdakova continued their strong play as of late Friday at the 2023 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Ohio Valley Regional Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee. The duo is in the quarterfinals of the doubles draw following a convincing round of 16 victory over Purdue's Juana Larranaga and Calissa Dellabarca.
 
Seeded ninth, the pair defeated Larranaga and Dellabarca 8-4 for their seventh-straight doubles win this fall going back to the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, North Carolina. Hlahola and Zholdakova will face second-seeded Esther Adeshina and Sofia Cabezas of the University of Tennessee Saturday morning in the quarterfinals. First serve from the Lady Vols' Barksdale Tennis Stadium is slated for 8 a.m. CT.
 
The match will be streamed live on PlaySight.
 
In the singles main draw round of 64, both Zholdakova and freshman Vesa Gjinaj were handed straight-set losses. Zholdakova fell to 17th-seeded Adeshina 7-5, 6-0 in the second round while another No. 17 seed, Sofia Markova of East Tennessee State University, topped Gjinaj 6-3, 6-2.
 
Gjinaj will play an extra singles match Saturday, taking on the Buccaneers' Jana Rovira at 9 a.m. CT at the Tyson Family Tennis Center.
 
The Bruins' complete results from Friday can be found below.
 
2023 ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships – Friday's Results/Saturday's Matches

Doubles
R16 – No. 9 Mariia Hlahola/Anastasiya Zholdakova (Belmont) vs. Juana Larranaga/Calissa Dellabarca (Purdue) 8-4
QF – No. 9 Mariia Hlahola/Anastasiya Zholdakova (Belmont) vs. Esther Adeshina/Sofia Cabezas (Tennessee) – 8:00 a.m. CT (UT)

Singles
R64 – No. 17 Esther Adeshina (Tennessee) def. Anastasiya Zholdakova (Belmont) 7-5, 6-0
R64 – No. 17 Sofia Markova (ETSU) def. Vesa Gjinaj (Belmont) 6-3, 6-2
Consolation R64Q – Chase Metcalf (Butler) def. Hana Sokolovic (Belmont) 6-0, 3-1 (retired due to injury)
Extra – Vesa Gjinaj (Belmont) vs. Jana Rovira (ETSU) – 9:00 a.m. CT (Tyson Park)
 
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