ST. PETER, Minn. – Following a successful run through the doubles bracket at the 2022 ITA Midwest Regional Championship, Carleton College sophomores Amelia Asfaw (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep) and Mariam Nechiporuk (Portland, Ore./Lake Oswego) will add their names to the list of women’s tennis All-Americans.
While the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) won’t officially announce its 2022-23 All-America Team until June, but Asfaw and Nechiporuk have already met the criteria by winning this weekend’s ITA Regional.
This marks the 16th and 17th times in program history that a Carleton women’s tennis player will earn All-America status (see chart below). Additionally, the duo also punched their ticket to the ITA Cup—formerly the ITA National Small College Championships—to be held Oct. 13-16 at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga.
“It was a great tournament overall; both teams today played quite well today,” said Carleton head coach Luciano Battaglini. “We just played a little better at the important points of the match. Credit to Amelia and Mariam. This was another great accomplishment for the women’s tennis program.”
Asfaw and Nechiporuk entered the weekend as the top seed in the bracket. They received an opening-round bye and proceeded to win their five remaining matches to take home the crown.
Their closest match of the weekend came in the quarterfinals as the Carleton tandem prevailed 8-7 (7-3) over the No. 5 seeded duo from Grinnell on Sunday. The finals on Monday morning pitted the top two seeds in the bracket against each other, but the Knights claimed the first set 6-2 before capturing the second in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-3).
First Round
No. 1 Amelia Asfaw/Mariam Nechiporuk (CAR) — bye
Second Round
No. 1 Amelia Asfaw/Mariam Nechiporuk (CAR) def. Madie Schultz/Jania Carter-Johnson (COE) — 8-1
Third Round
No. 1 Amelia Asfaw/Mariam Nechiporuk (CAR) def. Raquel Egge/Mary Skorich (CON) — 8-0
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Amelia Asfaw/Mariam Nechiporuk (CAR) def. No. 5 Sabrina Tang/Ioanna Giannakou (GRIN) — 8-7 (7-3)
Semifinals
No. 1 Amelia Asfaw/Mariam Nechiporuk (CAR) def. Peyton Kopel/Sophia Jonas (CSB) — 8-1
Finals
No. 1 Amelia Asfaw/Mariam Nechiporuk (CAR) def. No. 2 Clare Palen/Sam Fuchs (UWEC) — 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
Carleton College women’s tennis players to named All-Americans
1990 — Leslie Gale (singles)
1990 — Marcia Hunt (doubles)
1990 — Leslie Gale (doubles)
1991 — Marcia Hunt (doubles)
1991 — Leslie Gale (doubles)
2004 — Amanda Santa Romana (doubles)
2004 — Sarah Russell (doubles)
2005 — Sarah Russell (singles)
2009 — Kathryn Schmidt (singles)
2010 — Kathryn Schmidt (singles)
2011 — Kathryn Schmidt (singles)
2012 — Kathryn Schmidt (singles)
2013 — Mikayla Becich (doubles)
2013 — Bridget Doyle (doubles)
2022 — Mary Frances Hose (singles)
2023 — Amelia Asfaw (doubles)
2023 — Mariam Nechiporuk (doubles)