Liberty University
Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Day 2
Liberty's Bongart Reaches Final at Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic
11/3/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Liberty senior Ashley Bongart claimed quarterfinal and semifinal wins in the singles main draw on Saturday at the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic, earning a spot in tomorrow's final held at the Lakewood Ranch Tennis Center.
Bongart and her fellow teammate, senior Lara Soares, both reached the semifinal round at at the highly-acclaimed tournament, the only collegiate clay court tournament in the country.
In the quarterfinals, Bongart knocked off top-seeded Marina Guinart of Oklahoma State, the 73rd-ranked player in the nation, in a thrilling three-set match. Bongart lost the first set 6-0 before taking the second set by a 6-4 score and then winning the third, 1-0 (10-8), to take the match (0-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8).
Bongart then squared off with TCU's Mercedes Aristegui in the semifinals. She defeated Aristegui 6-4, 6-4. Bongart will play tomorrow for a title in Lakewood Ranch, a town just southeast of her hometown of Bradenton, Fla. It will be an all-Virginia final tomorrow, as she will square off with the Virginia Tech Hokies' Natalie Novotna.
Bongart is 10-3 this fall in singles. Her victory over Aristegui was the 50th singles triumph of her college career (33 at Liberty, 17 at Tennessee).
Novotna, the No. 32-ranked player in the country, defeated the Lady Flames' Soares 6-4, 7-5 in the other semifinal. Soares won her first match of the day in straight sets versus Evelyne Tiron of USF, 6-1, 6-3.
Soares is also 10-3 in singles during her final fall campaign.
In doubles play, Bongart and Soares dropped their quarterfinal bout, losing to UCF's Ksenia Kuznetsova and Natalia Serrano 8-2.
In two days at the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic, Bongart and Soares hold a combined 8-2 record.
The third and final day of play at the Lakewood Ranch Tennis Center will begin on Sunday morning at 9 a.m.
