THE RUNDOWN
DBU's Women's Tennis team shined over the weekend at the ITA South Central Regional Championships at the Arlington Tennis Center. The Lady Patriots' performance was headlined by graduate student transfer Angela Charles-Alfred who reached the finals of the tournament. Charles-Alfred dominated during her run to the finals, dropping no more than six games in a single match, before falling in the finals in a close three-set battle to St. Mary's Ashley Penshorn, a two-time All-American and previous tournament champion.
 
Angela becomes just the third player in DBU history to advance to the ITA South Central Regional finals, joining Kate Daugherty (2019) and Taylor Leslie (2021). Charles-Alfred will now await the decision to see if she is selected for an at-large bid to the ITA cup.
 
Along with the success of Charles-Alfred, Sarah Castleberry won the consolation bracket of B draw by defeating opponents from Western New Mexico and Texas A&M-Kingsville. Elise Carbo reached the finals of B draw singles after winning two rounds. Castleberry and Carbo also teamed up in doubles to advance to the finals of B draw doubles.
 
Madison Stafford won two hard-fought matches against top players from St. Mary's and UT Permian Basin before falling to a seeded player from Cameron.
 
All three doubles teams of Hudson/Charles-Alfred, Rios/Teran and Stafford/Payne won their first rounds. Madison Stafford and Jenna Payne highlighted doubles action with a win over a top 15 team in the country before falling in the semifinals 6-7,6-7 in a nail-biter to the eventual tournament champions from St. Mary's.
 
DBU HEAD COACH WADE MORGAN ON A STRONG SHOWING AT THE ITA REGIONAL
"What a special weekend as a team our girls showed high amounts of heart and grit with their performances.  I couldn't be more proud of their efforts. We had some tough losses that I know we'll learn from and unexpected success and that just goes to show that the strength of this team is something that is noticeable. We are excited for what's coming this year with this group, but there's no doubt that we have a lot of be proud of as a program."