AZUSA – Cal State LA's women's tennis team opened play with some solid performances Thursday in the Oracle/ITA West Region Championships hosted by Azusa Pacific.
 
Newcomer Amanda Schneider had the best day, advancing through two rounds to reach the Round of 16. She beat Point Loma's Daniela Baum, 6-1, 6-3, in the first round and knocked off No. 5 seed Amanda Zuidema of Sonoma State in the second round, 2-6, 7-5 (10-4).
 
Three other Golden Eagles won their first-round matches. No. 8 seed Elizaveta Sokolova beat Jenna De Turk of Sonoma State, 6-4, 6-0 before falling to Ghazal Pakbaten of Concordia, 6-2, 6-4. Isabella Lopez beat Lauren Lee of Biola, 6-2, 6-1, before falling to Azusa Pacific's Diana Baumgartnere, 6-0, 6-3. Freshman Chelsea Ruiz beat Academy of Art's Paula Alcantara, 6-3, 7-6 before falling to No. 3 seed Anastasiia Kuprina of Concordia, 6-0, 6-2.
 
Luciana Di Laura had a lengthy first-round battle with Dixie State's Lacey Hancock before falling, 6-7, 6-3, (13-11), while Judy Ung and Mariko Sagara lost in straight sets in first-round matches.
 
In doubles, Sokolova and Schneider, seeded No. 4, won their opening match against Nguyen/Wartenburg of Dominican, 8-3. Snezana Ivanovic and Layna Schwartz fell to Lee and Kandaki, 8-6, Di Laura and Lopez fell to Brooner and De Turk, 8-6 and Ung and Sagara fell to Kuprina and Keeline of Concordia, 8-1.
 
The winners of the singles and doubles will qualify for the Oracle Cup, which will be held on Oct. 11-15 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. The national championship event will include all eight regional champions from the NCAA Division II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges.