ST. PETER, Minn. (Blugolds.com)–The UW-Eau Claire women's tennis team is competing in the ITA Midwest Regional Championships and Gustie Fall Invite this weekend. The first day is complete as singles play has moved on to at least the round of 32 in the ITA tourney and the Fall Invite draws are set up for the championship matches in each of the eight flights.

Natalie Wijesinghe (Apple Valley, MN) who was ranked #4 in the singles draw has advanced to the semi-finals in the ITA tourney, after recieving a first round bye she won her next four matches. Wijesinghe earned a victory over Hamilton (Grinnell) 6-2, 6-0 in the second round and followed that up with a win over Solber (Concordia, MN) in the round of 8. She defeated Valentine (Gustavus Adolphus) in the following round and finished her day with a 6-3, 7-6 win over McGuire (UW-Whitewater) to advance to the ITA semi-finals. 

 Molly Stewart (Amery, WI) and Sarah Henderson (Prior Lake, MN) both had good showings in the first day. Stewart earned  first and second round wins to advance to the round of 8 before falling to Wallace (UW-Whitewater). Henderson had a first round bye and defeated Frommer (Carthage) in the second round and Thome (Cornell) in the third round before falling to Zoe Park (Carelton).

The Gustie Fall Invite singles championship matches also feature a few of the Blugold women. In  the draw 1 championship, Hannah Zevenbergen (Baldwin, WI/ Baldwin-Woodville) will face Lydia Dean (Edgewood). While in draw 6,  Gabby Oswald (Watertown,Wis.) will take on Nikki Paskewitz (Northwestern).

The ITA double went through the first two rounds and is now down to the round of 16. Wijesinghe/Henderson were a top seed and earned a first round bye. They won their second round match over Sullivan/Martin (Gustavus Adolphus) and will face Yim/Yim (Carelton) in the next round. 

Play continues Sunday in both the ITA Regional Championships and the Gustie Fall Invitational, and results will be posted as they become available.