ROME, Ga.- Ave Maria University tennis players Lara Teodoro and Vitoria Barandas competed last week in the ITA Cup, the only championship for NAIA players where singles and doubles champions are crowned. For the second consecutive season, the duo advanced to the quarterfinals, thanks to a victory over a pair from Indiana Wesleyan. It also marked the third season in a row where Teodoro earned a win in Rome, dating back to 2020.

In the opening round of the tournament, the Brazilian duo battled Sofia Munoz and France Antezana from Indiana Wesleyan University. Indiana Wesleyan's team earned their spot at the ITA Cup as a semifinalist in the Midwest Region. Teodoro and Barandas won the first set 6-4, but dropped a 6-4 decision in the second frame. With a spot in the national quarterfinals on the line, AMU's duo was dominant in the third set, winning 10-4 to move into the final eight. 

The Gyrene pair then put up an excellent fight against the top-ranked team in the tournament, Iryna Lysykh and Stephanie Fernandez of national powerhouse Georgia Gwinnett College. Teodoro and Barandas took both sets to a 12th and final point before a tiebreaker, but could not come up with that decisive point in consecutive 7-5 defeats. Georgia Georgia's team would eventually advance to the championship match before falling to two of their Georgia Gwinnett teammates.

In the back draw, the Gyrenes faced a familiar foe in Isabella Perez and Florencia Araya from Keiser University. The match was a rematch from the semifinals of the ITA Regionals, which saw the Keiser duo earn an 8-5 win. The second match was a nailbiter, with each set going deeper than normal. Perez and Araya won the first set in a tiebreaker, Barandas and Teodoro did the same in the second, and the third set wasn't decided until Keiser's team emerged with a 13-11 win.

Tournament play continues for both Gyrene tennis teams this week, with the YTF Tournament scheduled for this weekend in Lakeland. Hosted by Southeastern University, many of the top teams in Florida are expected to be in attendance, giving the AMU tennis teams a strong challenge to wrap up the fall tournament season.