SALINA, Kan. — Oklahoma Wesleyan University tennis completed the ITA NAIA Central West Regional Championship on September 25–27, highlighted by singles semifinal appearances from Andreas Gabriel Seidel and Rocio Espinal. Rain and storm delays made for a challenging weekend, but the Eagles continued competing through the disrupted schedule.
The Eagles opened Friday with 13 wins across 22 singles and doubles matches. Seidel won twice in straight sets to reach the men's round of 16. Yassine Azehaf and Helori Peron also earned opening-round singles victories, while Raphael Alvado fell in his first main-draw match.
On the women's side, Espinal won both of her Friday singles matches to advance to the round of 16. Océane Frendjian, Nancy Henderson, Jewel Henderson and Madeline Henderson each recorded an opening-round win. Yelena Sanchez fell in a close 5–7, 5–7 match.
Three OKWU doubles pairs won Friday. Alvado and Peron defeated their William Woods opponents 8–4; Sanchez and Nancy Henderson won 8–5 against Texas Wesleyan; and Jewel Henderson and Espinal posted an 8–0 victory over the College of Saint Mary. Seidel and Azehaf, along with Madeline Henderson and Frendjian, lost their opening main-draw doubles matches.
Day 2 — Saturday, September 26
Seidel continued his men's singles run with a 6–3, 1–6, [10–4] round-of-16 win over Morningside's Mathys Arnold (seed #2). He then defeated William Woods' Cole Horton (seed #7) 6–4, 6–4 in the quarterfinals to earn a place in Sunday's semifinals.
Espinal advanced through two more rounds of women's singles. She beat Texas Wesleyan's Zeynep Sila Ege (seed #5) 7–5, 6–3 in the round of 16, then defeated Bethel's Daniela Casique (seed #4) 6–3, 6–4 in the quarterfinals.
Alvado added an 8–6 win over Kansas Wesleyan's Ayden Johnson in the men's singles consolation draw. Sanchez was also competing in the consolation draw and posted a dominant 8/0 win over Avila.
In men's doubles, Alvado and Peron fell 8–3 to the Texas Wesleyan pair of Charlie Woods and William Bayliss in the round of 16. Seidel and Azehaf won their consolation doubles match 6–2 over Hastings' Alex Hafer and Camden Palmer.
In women's doubles, Sanchez and Nancy Henderson lost 8–0 to Morningside's Lara Heinrich and Helene Kreibich. Jewel Henderson and Espinal fell 8–6 to Bethel's Olivia Goldsack and Ximena Raya Arredondo. Madeline Henderson and Frendjian picked up a vicorty in the consolation draw by walkover against Avila.
Day 3 — Sunday, September 27
Seidel's men's singles run ended in the semifinals against William Woods' Tomas Guadagni (seed #3), 4–6, 6–2, 6–3. Espinal fell 6–2, 6–3 to Concordia Nebraska's Seohyeon Jang (seed #1) in the women's semifinals. Both Eagles finished one win short of their respective singles finals. The Eagles battled hard all weekend long and left it all on the court. They concluded an historic run at ITA Regionals with a combined 21-15 record across singles and doubles.
The men's and women's teams now turn to offseason practices and workouts before closing their fall schedule with a matchup against John Brown University on October 24 in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
