Antunovic and Gambrell Advance to the Finals

EAST LANSING, Mich. Quarterfinal and semifinal doubles rounds were completed this afternoon at the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships.  Dunja Antunovic and Kirsten Gambrell eliminated the No. 7 (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) team of Lauren Lui and Georgia Rose to advance to the championship match.

In addition, rounds two and three of the singles main draw were completed yesterday evening and this afternoon.  Gia McKnight and Antunovic represented the Blue Demons in the rounds of 32 and 16.

Gambrell and Antunovic faced Stephanie Kebler and Lindsey Lonergan of Michigan State in quarterfinal action.  The Blue Demons extended their winning streak to five after taking the match 8-4.

Next, they went head-to-head with the No. 7 ranked team in country, in addition to the No. 1 seeded team in the tournament.  DePaul proved to be too much for Northwestern’s Lui and Rose, and advanced to the finals after winning the match 8-5

Tomorrow they’ll face BIG EAST Conference rival Notre Dame’s Keley Teft and Kristy Frilling.  Teft holds a preseason doubles ranking of No. 22, while Gambrell and Antunovic are 2-0 when facing ranked opponents.

Selma Salkovic and McKnight also represented the Blue Demons in quarterfinals competition.  After a hard fought battle the duo, now 5-3, bowed out to Ohio State’s Cami Hubbs and Kristina Keesey by a score of 8-4.

In singles action, McKnight faced Samantha Murray of Northwestern.  After dropping the first set 6-2, the Chicago native bowed out in the second set, 6-3. 

In the third round, Antunovic raised her record against ranked opponents to 2-0 after defeated No. 78 Cosmina Ciobanu by a score of 6-3, 6-1.  The DePaul senior advanced to the third round after defeating Shivani Dave of Illinois, 6-2, 6-4.  She is next slated to face Notre Dame’s No. 98 Kali Krisik in the quarterfinals.

The doubles championship is scheduled for 8 a.m. (CST) on Monday, followed by the continuation of singles bracket play.

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