Sakura Stula Steps Up in Main Draw to Lead DePaul at ITA Midwest Regionals

Thursday, October 8

Urbana-Champaign, Ill.

DePaul University

Illinois

Sakura Stula Steps Up in Main Draw to Lead DePaul at ITA Midwest Regionals

10/13/2026 11:56:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS

Senior’s Round of 16 singles run anchors DePaul’s regional action

CHICAGO – DePaul women's tennis concluded three days of stiff competition at the ITA Midwest Regionals Oct. 8 through Oct. 12, highlighted by senior Sasha Sakura Stula's main draw, Round of 16 run.

"Competing against some of the best teams in the country for a spot in the NCAA tournament is a great learning experience for this group," head coach Marisa Arce said. "It was clear to see how much each of our returners has improved from one year ago, and we go into the next couple of weeks of training with a clear plan on where our areas of improvement are to keep on that trend."

Sakura Stula started the tournament strong Friday, claiming a two-set first-round victory over Northwestern's Philippa Färber, 6-4, 7-6 [7-5]. Advancing to the Round of 32 later that day, the senior handed Notre Dame's Lily Rochon a 6-4, 6-2 defeat.

Sakura Stula also chalked up a win on the doubles court with partner Clara Nilsson on Friday. To begin main draw doubles play, the senior-junior duo defeated Bowling Green State's Taylor and Blair 8-6. The pair's run came to an end in the Round of 32 against top-seeded Charney and Miller from Michigan, 8-0.

The next day, Sakura Stula resumed singles play and fought hard against No. 36 Ekaterina Ivanova from Wisconsin, ultimately falling 6-3, 6-1. Ivanova went on to make the main draw singles final.

"It was especially special to see how far Sasha's improvements have taken her," Arce said. "She finished last year #19 in the region — and the only mid-major in the rankings — so now taking it a step further, making the Round of 16 after wins against players from Northwestern and Notre Dame was great."

While Sakura Stula led the way in the main draw, the Blue Demons also saw action in qualifying singles, with Roberta Sechi, Yasemin Pehlivan, Nilsson and Helin Alvarez competing for a spot in the main draw on Thursday. DePaul pulled off two three-set victories, as Sechi defeated Michigan State's Nora Syrtveit 7-5, 6-7 [6-8], 6-3, and Pehlivan dropped the first set 3-6 to Youngstown State's Alice Petrache before rallying in the next two sets, 7-5 and 6-0.

Sechi and Pehlivan's runs both came to an end in the Round of 32 the same day, where Sechi dropped a tough 3-6, 6-0, 2-6 decision to Notre Dame's Aria Abalos and Pehlivan fell 1-6, 4-6 to Wisconsin's Ellison Reynoldson.

Also competing in qualifying matches Thursday, Nilsson fell to Illinois' Shravani Chennamsetty 7-5, 6-1 before dropping a tightly matched third-set tiebreak consolation match 6-3, 3-6 [8-10] to Western Michigan's Julie Hostakova. Alvarez also played in the day's qualifying bracket, dropping a 6-2, 6-1 result to Michigan State's Laura Rahnel.

On the doubles court on Friday, pairings Sechi and Pehlivan battled Western Illinois and Eleanor Cochran and Alvarez competed against Northwestern in the opening round of doubles action. Both doubles teams fell 8-2 to their respective opponent.

As a team, the Blue Demons notched one doubles win, two three-set thriller qualifying singles match victories and five singles wins throughout the tournament.

Results from the consolation matches will be updated as they become available.

ITA Midwest Regionals Results

Thursday, Oct. 8
R-64: Chennamsetty (UOI) def. Clara Nilsson, 7-5, 6-1
R-64: Roberta Sechi (DPU) def. Syrtveit (MSU), 7-5, 6-7 [6-8], 6-3
R-64: Rahnel (UM) def. Helin Alvarez (DPU), 6-2, 6-1
R-64: Yasemin Pehlivan (DPU) def. Petrache (YSU), 3-6, 7-5, 6-0
R-32:Abalos (UND) def. Roberta Sechi (DPU), 6-3, 0-6, 6-2
R-32: Reynoldson (UW) def. Yasemin Pehlivan (DPU), 6-1, 6-4

Friday, Oct. 9
Singles
R-64: Sasha Sakura Stula (DPU) def. Färber (NU), 6-4, 7-6 [7-5]

Doubles
R-64: Sasha Sakura Stula/Clara Nilsson (DPU) def. Taylor/Blair (BGS), 8-6
R-64: Jessel/Färber (NU) def. Eleanor Cochran/Helin Alvarez (DPU), 8-2
R-64: Fawcett/Hess (WIU) def. Roberta Sechi/Yasemin Pehlivan (DPU), 8-2
R-32: Charney/Miller (UM) def. Sasha Sakura Stula/Clara Nilsson (DPU), 8-0

Saturday, Oct. 10
Singles
R-32: Sasha Sakura Stula (DPU) def. Rochon (UND), 6-4, 6-2
R-16: Ivanova (UW) def. Sasha Sakura Stula (DPU), 6-3, 6-1

Consolation Draw
R-32-Q: Hostakova (WMU) def. Clara Nilsson (DPU), 3-6, 6-3, [10-8]

Next Up
The Blue Demons take a break from play for two-and-a-half weeks before heading to Toledo for the Toledo Hidden Duals Oct. 30-31 in the final fall tournament of 2026.

FOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS
For all the latest information on DePaul Women's Tennis, visit DePaulBlueDemons.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Blue Demons on Instagram and X.