Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BOCA RATON, Fla.- The Ave Maria University tennis teams competed for the first time in the 2021-22 school year this past weekend, playing at the ITA Florida Regionals, hosted by Keiser University at Patch Reef Park in Boca Raton. The event is the precursor to the ITA Cup, which crowns the only singles and doubles national champions for the NAIA.

Ave Maria's top performance came in the women's doubles bracket, courtesy of Lara Teodoro and Vitoria Barandas. The Brazilian duo won three matches in the doubles bracket, defeating teams from Southeastern, Warner, and Keiser en route to an appearance in the semifinals. Elsewhere in the doubles bracket, the team of Kely Oliveira and Niccolle Koop earned a first round win over a team from St. Thomas to earn their way into the round of 16.

Teodoro was also Ave Maria's top player in singles competition, playing her way into the quarterfinals. The returning First Team All-American defeated Haley Morrissey (SCAD) and Anique Engelbrecht (Keiser) in the first two rounds, then earned another win over a Keiser player in Madalena Peneda in the round of 16, before falling in a tight three set match in the quarterfinals.

Two other Gyrenes earned two singles wins each to advance to the round of 16. Kely Oliveira defeated SCAD's Caroline Lewis in straight sets, then rallied from a first-set loss to beat Keiser's Eleonora Guglielmetti. On the other side of the bracket, newcomer Andrea Rodriguez Oria won back-to-back matches in straight sets, beating two players from Coastal Georgia - Caitlyn Napier and Eva Rubio. Three more AMU players - Julia Candiotto, Amarlia Benn, and Aethielle Kelkboom - all picked up wins in the first round.

In the men's singles bracket, two Gyrenes found themselves in the round of 16. Nicholas Hofmeister defeated players from Southeastern and St. Thomas in his first two matches, and was competitive against the number three overall seed, Keiser's Charly Zick. In his Ave Maria debut, Fernando Alejandro Orihuela won a pair of matches, defeating Warner's Richard Freemann and Keiser's Maxime Navrotchi, with the second match going three sets. Oriheula fell to the number two overall seed, Geronimo Barrios from Keiser.

AMU also got a singles victory from sophomore Graham Gibbs. Gibbs won his way into the round of 32 with a straight sets victory, as the Gyrene topped Southeastern's Miguel Binnios, 6-1, 6-3.

Ave Maria will play in one more tournament this fall, as the Gyrenes will head to Lakeland to play in Southeastern's YTF Tournament. AMU will also await a possible invitation to the ITA Cup, namely for the doubles team of Teodoro and Barandas.