ORLANDO, Fla. - No. 51 Yuliia Starodubtseva of the Old Dominion women's tennis team fell to No. 21 nationally ranked Jessica Failla (Pepperdine) in two sets (6-0, 6-0) in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Singles Tournament on Monday afternoon at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.
"Tip of the hat to Jessica. She was about as perfect as she could be today and it just wasn't Yuliia's day; however, Yuliia will be back," said ODU head coach Dominic Manilla.
Yesterday in the first round, Starodubtseva took down No. 15 nationally ranked Carolyn Campana of Wake Forest in three sets (6-0, 4-6, 6-3), marking the first singles win in the NCAA Tournament for the program since 2004, when ODU's Nataly Cahana defeated Jessica Ferguson (LSU) 7-5, 6-2.
Starodubtseva was named the C-USA Player of the Year, while garnering All-Conference USA First Team accolades for singles, as well as doubles. The Kakhovka, Ukraine native ended the season as the highest ranked singles player in the conference after compiling an 11-2 record for the year.
A couple weeks ago, Starodubtseva helped No. 29 ODU pick up its first team win in program history in the NCAA Tournament after taking down No. 33 Arkansas by a 4-2 score in the first round.
This season marked Old Dominion's second ever conference championship and first ever in Conference USA, as the Monarchs won the CAA crown in 2001. This year's NCAA tournament appearance was the third in program history, as ODU earned an at large bid in 2019.
To view the NCAA Tournament central page, click here.
No. 51 Starodubtseva Falls to No. 21 Failla in NCAA Tournament Round of 32
