Mixed results on day one of 2014 USTA/ITA National Small College Championships

Defending champion Deni Zmak of Embry-Riddle stretches to reach a volley during his doubles match

The day's marathon match, which lasted well over three hours, was played in the morning between play-in winner and No. 2 seed Sofia Vega of Texas Lutheran and Megan Humphreys of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Vega carried her momentum from the play-in match to win the first set, 6-2. She led 5-1 in the second set, but Humphreys stormed back for the 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win.

Defending Super Bowl singles champions Deni Zmak of Embry-Riddle and Valentine Confalonieri of Lynn both came through their first-round matches in their title defenses. Confalonieri won in straight sets, but Zmak needed three sets to best Auburn Montgomery's Nicolas Pinones-Haltenhoff, 6-2, 0-6, 6-1. 

Fatyha Berjane of Georgia Perimeter won a round of singles and doubles, and will play for 3rd place in doubles tomorrow

Women's doubles for all divisions played two rounds on Thursday, with the No. 1 seeds advancing to the finals at every level except Division II. In Division II, Armstrong State's unseeded pair of Dora Andrejszki and Lena Lutzeier battled past the top-seeded pair from BYU-Hawaii and the No. 4 seeds from Concordia to earn their place as the only un-seeded doubles pair in a divisional final. They will square off against defending Super Bowl champs Linda Fritschken and Emma Onila of Barry.

In Division III action, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps pair of Caroline Ward and Katie Kuosman were the only top seed to advance to the second round, defeating the UW-Whitewater duo of Brigid McGuire and Alicia Beck 6-0, 6-2. Also the No. 1 seed in singles, Ward was knocked out in the first round by Ashnaa Rao of Johns Hopkins, 6-1, 6-3.

At the NAIA and Junior College levels, the seeded players were relatively successful on Thursday. However in JuCo men's singles action, Guy Iradukunda of Seminole State topped No. 1 seed Hironori Koyanagi of Ventura College 6-3, 6-4 to move into the semifinals. Laredo's Arturo Pinazo also knocked out a seeded opponent, defeating third-seeded Celestin Nkoueleue of Georgia Perimeter 6-1, 6-2. 

Armstrong State's Fernando Bogajo is making his fourth appearance at this event, with the previous trips as a member of Lindsey Wilson

Tomorrow action starts with men's singles at 8:30am, followed by women's singles at 10:30am. Both the men's and women's doubles divisional finals will be played later in the day, shortly following the men's doubles semifinals.

For complete coverage of the 2014 USTA/ITA National Small College Championships, including access to updated draws, please visit the official tournament page on ITAtennis.com. Follow the ITA on Twitter, @ITAtennis, for updates and news from Sumter (search for the hashtag #SmallCollegeNationals) and like us on Facebook to see photos. 

About the Palmetto Tennis Center

The Palmetto Tennis Center is located inside Palmetto Park in Sumter, South Carolina, and is home to 24 state-of-the-art tennis courts, with lighting available for night play. Three on-site tennis pros and a progressive training program teach players from beginner to advanced levels spanning from players aged five and older. Other amenities include ball machines, stringing service, and a pro shop. Admission for regular play is free of charge. Visit the Palmetto Tennis Center website and follow tournament updates on their Facebook page.

About the ITA

As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which is comprised of nearly 1,700 men's and women's varsity coaches representing over 1,200 institutions, administers numerous regional and national championships and the ITA College Tennis Rankings for over 20,000 college varsity student-athletes at NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship. The official ITA web site is www.itatennis.com.