STILLWATER, Okla. – Old Dominion junior Sofia Johnson opened play on Monday in the NCAA Singles Championship with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 win over Carly Briggs of Florida at the Greenwood Tennis Center at Oklahoma State. Johnson entered the tournament ranked 116th, while Briggs was 56th.
“A strong performance today in all aspects from Sofia. The wind is a major factor here in Oklahoma, requiring a steel trap of a mentality. We are working to stay locked in and keep going,” said ODU Head Coach Dominic Manilla.
In a first set that saw Johnson break the serve of Briggs on three occasions, including one at 4-4 to take a 5-4 lead. She served the final game at love to win the first set 6-4. Briggs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set en route to a 6-1 second set win.
The third set saw Johnson race out to a 5-0 lead as she broke serve twice in the first five games. In the final game, Johnson rallied back from an 0-40 deficit and clinched the match on a double fault.
Johnson advances now to face Andjela Skrobonja of San Diego State on Tuesday in the round of 32. Skrobonja, ranked 98th nationally, defeated Lisa Zaar of Pepperdine 7-5, 6-1 in her first-round match on Monday. On the year, Johnson is now 21-10 with three wins over nationally-ranked opponents.
This is the second straight year that a Monarch advanced a round in the singles championship. Tatsiana Sasnouskaya won her opening round match last season defeating Alana Smith of N.C. State 6-3, 6-4 in Orlando, Florida.