MOUNT BERRY, Ga. – Ashleigh Simes began the weekend as Lee University's first representative at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Cup as an at-large selection and now she is the first Lee tennis player to be a national champion after winning her fourth match in four days to claim the Division II Women's Singles Championship at the ITA Cup.
Simes faced the University of North Georgia's Anglina Linnikova in the final and claimed a straight-set victory. The senior from Canberra, Australia, won the opening set 6-2 and completed the championship run with a 6-1 margin in the second set.
Over the entirety of the ITA Cup, Simes went 4-0. She lost just two sets and was pushed to a third set in each of her first two matches. In the semifinal contest against Flagler's Dana Heimen, Simes needed a first-set tiebreaker to win 7-6 and was pushed again in the second set where she held off Heimen for the 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 win. Overall, Simes outscored her opposition 55-39, not including the tiebreaker.
The ITA Cup, formerly known as the Small College Nationals, was held October 10-13 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College. The DII tournament was made up of 16 players. Participants were made up of champion or runner-up from each of the eight regional championships who receive automatic bids. A minimum of eight at-large selections came from the regional finalists and quarterfinalists with four selections from each group.
Coach Hines' Thoughts:
"Just a great week for Ash. She's such a humble competitor who always gives her best to the team. We felt like there was an opportunity to do something big this week, but to actually come out and execute that was a joy to watch.
She had to fight really hard in the first two rounds from a set down and overcome a lot of adversity. In the semifinal we also dealt with some unexpected obstacles as well. It's incredible to think she was five points away from going out in the first round and now here she stands as a national champion.
Sometimes you need a little luck to progress in a tournament like this, but mostly you need a determined attitude, fighting spirit and above all, belief in yourself.
To see it all come together today in the final was very gratifying. Ash really brought her best tennis to the biggest match of her college career, and it was everything we could have asked for.
Just a tremendous effort from her and we are all very proud of how she represents Lee."
