DePaul University Athletics
Women’s Tennis Finishes Eighth in Midwest Regional Year-End Rankings
6/3/2026 11:40:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
Sasha Stula ranks as the 19th best singles player in the region
CHICAGO – DePaul women's tennis ranked as the eighth best team in the Midwest Regional, per the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) year-end rankings announced Wednesday. Junior standout Sasha Stula finished as the 19th best singles player in the region, with 14 nationally ranked athletes ahead of her in the regional standings.
The ITA uses a rating system that incorporates a player's strength of wins and losses into a composite score, mathematically ranking players based on their difficulty of opponent and record. DePaul finished the year with a team score of 19.15, with Sasha leading the way with a 16.37 mark. A lower score signifies a stronger player. The second-best-rated Blue Demon is Hannah Smith with a 18.51 grade.
DePaul (12-11) concluded the season as the top mid-major program in the Midwest region, attaining an 8th place finish, closely behind No. 66 nationally ranked Michigan State in 7th place. DePaul has finished 8th in the Midwest in each year since the regional rankings were introduced in 2023. The pair of Hannah Smith and Eva Goncharov finished as the 10th best doubles tandem in the region last year, and the duo of Yuliya Kizelbasheva and Lenka Antonijevic also came in at 10th in 2023.
Stula is the first Blue Demon to crack the regional top-20 singles list since the inception of the rankings. The junior from Japan went 15-4 in duals singles play, the best mark on No. 1 court across the entire BIG EAST, and recorded the most wins in a DePaul season since 2016. Some highlights from her season include victories over then nationally ranked No. 43 Margot Phanthala and then ranked No. 63 Bianca Molnar. In the year-end rankings, Phanthala and Molnar finished at 13th and 10th, respectively.
2026 ITA Midwest Regional Team Rankings
2026 ITA Midwest Regional Singles Rankings
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 Twitter and Instagram.
-DPU-
The ITA uses a rating system that incorporates a player's strength of wins and losses into a composite score, mathematically ranking players based on their difficulty of opponent and record. DePaul finished the year with a team score of 19.15, with Sasha leading the way with a 16.37 mark. A lower score signifies a stronger player. The second-best-rated Blue Demon is Hannah Smith with a 18.51 grade.
DePaul (12-11) concluded the season as the top mid-major program in the Midwest region, attaining an 8th place finish, closely behind No. 66 nationally ranked Michigan State in 7th place. DePaul has finished 8th in the Midwest in each year since the regional rankings were introduced in 2023. The pair of Hannah Smith and Eva Goncharov finished as the 10th best doubles tandem in the region last year, and the duo of Yuliya Kizelbasheva and Lenka Antonijevic also came in at 10th in 2023.
Stula is the first Blue Demon to crack the regional top-20 singles list since the inception of the rankings. The junior from Japan went 15-4 in duals singles play, the best mark on No. 1 court across the entire BIG EAST, and recorded the most wins in a DePaul season since 2016. Some highlights from her season include victories over then nationally ranked No. 43 Margot Phanthala and then ranked No. 63 Bianca Molnar. In the year-end rankings, Phanthala and Molnar finished at 13th and 10th, respectively.
2026 ITA Midwest Regional Team Rankings
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Notre Dame
- Illinois
- Northwestern
- Michigan State
- DePaul
- Toledo
- Northern Illinois
2026 ITA Midwest Regional Singles Rankings
- Luciana Perry, Ohio State
- Teah Chavez, Ohio State
- Piper Charney, Michigan
- Maria Sholokhova, Wisconsin
- Lily Jones, Michigan
- McKenna Schaefbauer, Illinois
- Ekaterina Ivanova, Wisconsin
- Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev, Ohio State
- Nao Nishino, Ohio State
- Bianca Molnar, Notre Dame
- Reese Miller, Michigan
- Amara Brahmbhatt
- Margot Phanthala, Northwestern
- Emily Sartz-Lunde, Michigan
- Audrey Spencer, Ohio State
- Akari Matsuno, Notre Dame
- Ellie Blackford, Michigan State
- Jessica Bernales, Notre Dame
- Sasha Stula, DePaul
- Sophia Holod, Notre Dame
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 Twitter and Instagram.
-DPU-
Players Mentioned
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