For the first time in Iowa State Tennis history, the Cyclones will participate in the NCAA Doubles Championship held in Orlando, Florida. Junior Stanislava Shulzhenko and sophomore Mari Paz Alberto Vilar will be the duo competing in the competition, starting Tuesday.
It’s been a long road for the two Cyclones as they have had success at every point in the season. In the very first tournament of the fall season, the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, the pair teamed up to win thanks to strong doubles and singles play.
Their next appearance together was at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Regional tournament, where they picked up a win against the 20th-ranked doubles team in the country, beating them 8-7(5).
They continued to make it to the semifinals, but would eventually be eliminated, losing to the 27th-ranked doubles team in the country, 4-6, 6-2, [12-10].
This run helped the pair get invited to the ITA Central Sectional Championship, where they qualified for the NCAA championship and finished 3rd. They picked up a win on the 79th-ranked doubles team in the country, winning 6-2, 6-0.
They reached the semifinals, where they lost again, this time to the 38th-ranked duo in the country, losing 6-0, 6-1. But with them making it to the semifinals, they had a chance to qualify, as they just needed to beat the other pair that lost in the semifinals. They continued to win 6-4, 7-6 (5), qualifying them for the NCAA Doubles Championship.
Their road to get to this tournament was long, but it’s only just the beginning for these two Cyclones, as the winner of this tournament will need to rattle off five wins in a row against the top collegiate talent in the country to be crowned national champions.
The first round of the tournament will be against Bojana Pozder and Bianca Molnar from the University of Notre Dame. They are the 84th-ranked duo in the country.
This season has been a successful one for this Cyclone duo as they’ve made history in their first season competing as teammates. This is Shulzhenko’s first year donning the cardinal and gold, as she transferred to Iowa State after playing her first two years at the University of North Texas.
Alberto Vilar has also been strong to start her second season. Last season in doubles play, she went 12-18 playing with multiple teammates; she also went 18-10 in singles. She’s shown improvements in both singles and doubles in this fall season, while there’s a small sample size with her and Shulzhenko teaming up; in the three tournaments that they’ve played doubles together, their only losses have come against ranked opponents.
In singles, Alberto Vilar has been successful as well, and she became the first Cyclone to make it to the main draw of the ITA All-American Championship.
The duo is currently unranked but has been able to beat multiple ranked opponents this season, while still putting up strong battles against ranked opponents, even in their losses. They expect to continue that for this tournament.
The NCAA Doubles Championship will take place from Tuesday to Sunday. The action will be broadcast on ESPN+.
