Women's tennis player Luisa Renovales advances to national tournament semifinals
Eastern Florida State College women's tennis player Luisa Renovales became the fourth player in program history to advance to the semifinals of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Tyler, Texas.
The freshman battled cramping in hands and legs and the No. 2 seed Hrudaya Shah in the quarterfinals, expending every bit of her energy to pick up the victory at No. 6 singles and advance to the semifinals of the national tournament.
Renovales won the first set, 6-2, but Shah forced a third set with a 6-4 second set win. Renovales began to cramp late in the second set and after getting a bit of a breather between sets, came back out and battled for every point in the third set.
"I just kept telling myself I was not quitting, I had to keep pushing," Renovales said. "It hurt so much, but I did not want to quit so I just kept fighting."
Tied 4-4, Renovales broke Shah and then served for the win.
"Everyone was cheering for me, I could barely hold back the tears. St. Petersburg, Hillsborough and other teams were all cheering me on, it was amazing," Renovales said. "As soon as I won I burst into tears, both happy and from the pain. I had to be helped off the court and get treatment as soon as it ended."
Renovales will play No. 3 seed Camila Neyra from Cowley College at 8 a.m. Tuesday in Texas. Neyra advanced to the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Collin College's Margaryta Bugaienko.
"I am so excited to play again tomorrow, this is a dream for me. I did not expect to make it this far but you can bet that I am going to fight as hard as I can to keep playing," Renovales said.
No. 4 singles player Lucia Lucas Martinez fell in the quarterfinals to Tyler Junior College's Yeva Kramarova as the No. 2 seed won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
Martinez teamed with Paige Noble Lucas in a quarterfinals match at No. 3 doubles, losing to No. 4 seed Lilia Jerry and Patricia Principal. After winning a tight first set 7-6, the duo lost the next two 6-4, 6-1.
No. 5 singles player Helena Jokanovic also lost in the quarterfinals, falling to Tyler Junior College's Natalia Michta. Jokanovic lost to the No. 3 seed 6-2, 6-2.
Two singles players and a doubles team advanced to the semifinals of the consolation bracket on Monday.
At No. 2 singles, Simona Karlsson Hantzis advanced to the consolation semifinals with an 8-1 win over Central Alabama's Jane League. The win put Karlsson in the semifinals where she will play Moraine Valley CC's Simona Tomczak at Tuesday at 8 a.m. Tomczak advanced with a tiebreaker win.
No. 3 singles player Gloria Barcaro defeated Justine Azarak 8-2 to advance to the consolation semifinals on Monday. Barcaro will play Taji Williams Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
The No. 2 doubles team of Gloria Barcaro and Emma Sanchez also advanced to the consolation semifinals after defeating Eastern Arizona's Laura Coulome and Hannah Miller 8-0. Barcaro and Sanchez will play Mississippi Gulf Coast CC's Kendall Burn and Hayden Hensarling in the semifinals after the duo won 8-0. The match will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
The Titans head into Day 4 in 10th place overall.