CWRU Athletics

Kassaie became the first Spartan women's tennis player to qualify for the singles draw of the ITA Cup with her performance at the ITA Central Region Championship in St. Louis over the weekend. She reached the final of the singles draw to earn an invitation to the national event, winning her first five matches in draw. Seeded third, Kassaie bested Kalamazoo's Juliana Pullen 6-0, 6-1 in the first round, Chicago's Serena Biria 6-2, 6-3 in the second round, Otterbein's Erin Storrer 6-1, 6-1in the round of 16, and Chicago's eighth-seeded Oliwia Mikos 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinal matchup on Sunday, she bested second-seeded Eleni Lazaridou of Kenyon 6-4, 6-0 to reach the final and qualify for the ITA Cup. After taking the first set from top-seeded Slywia Mikos from Chicago 6-2, Kassaie dropped the next two sets by identical 2-6 scores to finish as the regional runner-up. Kassaie also reached the semifinal of the main doubles draw with junior Lily McCloskey, but the duo fell to a partnership from Chicago to end their run with a 3-1 record. In the fall, Kassaie has so far compiled a 9-1 record in singles play and 8-1 record in doubles play.