Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Results

ST. LOUIS, Ill. (Sept. 24, 2023) - Tying two North Central College women's tennis program records, Abigail Penados advanced to the quarterfinals as an individual while teaming up with Natalie Bassett in doubles play to make another quarterfinal run in the three-day Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Central Regional Tournament in St. Louis.

Penados, entering the tournament as the No. 6 seed, opened with a straight set victory over College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin foe Emily Markus (Millikin University), 6-0, 6-2 before advancing to the round of 16 with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Peyton Oda of Denison University. There, Penados used a 0-6, 7-5, 7-5 comeback victory over No. 6 Nicole Geller to move to the quarterfinals where she fell to the No. 2 seeded Eleni Lazaridou from Kenyon College. Penados' run to the quarterfinals ties the best ITA result in program history with Bassett's tournament run a season ago.

Bassett began singles play with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Addison Brannon (Greenville University). In the round of 32, she downed Journee White from Webster University, 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the round of 16 for the second straight season. Bassett, the No. 9 seed in the bracket, ran into No. 7 Lily McCloskey (Case Western Reserve University) and fell 6-2, 6-0 to end her day.

Competing in the Red Draw of the tournament, Kensington Payne rolled to an 8-1 win over Claire Hannaford from Anderson University before falling 6-4, 7-6 in the quarterfinals to end her day in singles action. Anastasia Bozovic fell to the No. 3 seed Anna Kan (Case Western) in the Yellow Draw, 8-2 to move into the consolation bracket. There, she cruised to an 8-1 win over Veronica Saunders (Fransiscan University) to advance to the consolation semifinals. After defeating Ally Rassenfoss (Transylvania University), 8-2, Bozovic lost in the consolation final against Payton Dugan of Earlham College, 8-2.

After receiving a bye, the No. 5 seeded Cardinal duo of Penados/Bassett earned an 8-3 win over Erin Storrer/Lillia Walter (Otterbein University). In the round of 16, Penados/Bassett battled to an 8-6 victory over No. 9 Nicole Geller/Lauren Khou of the University of Chicago. Becoming just the second doubles team in program history to advance to the quarterfinals, Penados/Bassett ran into the No. 1 seed Hannah Kassaie/McCloskey (Case Western) and lost a hard fought match, 8-5.

Payne/Bozovic fell in the opening round to their Denison competition to move into the consolation bracket. Taking on Rachelle Moses/Olivia Eckels of Otterbein, the Cardinals' tandem earned a tightly contested 8-7 win, advancing to the round of 16. Ending their tournament, the Cardinal tandem fell to Abby Cruser/Jenna Bell (Ohio Northern University), 8-4.

North Central returns to team play with a match against Wheaton College on Tuesday afternoon. The contest is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Wheaton Tennis Courts.

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