Women's Tennis 10/12/2022 8:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Bronchos Boyar & Buntrock Head To ITA Cup

Central Oklahoma Doubles Team Competing For National Title This Week in Georgia

ROME, Ga. – Central Oklahoma's regional champion doubles team is heading to the ITA Cup this week with hopes of a national title.

The 2022 ITA Cup begins Thursday at the Rome Tennis Center. The annual fall tournament for collegiate tennis crowns individual national champions in both singles and doubles at the NCAA Division II level, as well as JUCO and NAIA.

Nikki Boyar and Blythe Buntrock won the ITA Central Region doubles championship two weeks ago at Edmond Center Court to qualify for the tournament. The ITA awarded eight automatic qualifiers to regional champs and will welcome eight more at-large bids for this week's 16-team tournament.

The Broncho duo will face off against Katy Graydon and Lydia Vlachou of Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the Round of 16 with first serve scheduled for 12:30 p.m. (Eastern). There is a brief history between Central Oklahoma and Indiana, Pa. and the four competitors prepping for Thursday. UCO beat Indiana 4-0 in the NCAA national quarterfinals in 2021. Boyar and Buntrock teamed up for a 6-1 at No. 3 doubles that May day. Graydon and Vlachou played separately and both lost to UCO teams at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.

Boyar and Buntrock take an 8-0 record to Georgia. The duo went 3-0 at the Cameron Invite to claim the Flight 1 doubles title. The pair followed that with a 5-0 weekend in Edmond to claim the regional title.

Boyar and Buntrock are playing their third season as a doubles team. The two went 14-6 in 2020-21, 11-6 during the 2021-22 season, and with this Fall's eight wins, are now 33-12 in their career together.

UCO has sent a doubles team to the ITA Cup for three consecutive seasons (four years). Boyar went with Paola Landin in 2019. There was not a tournament in 2020. Mae and Christine Canete went in 2021 and won the ITA doubles national championship, the first of its kind in Broncho tennis history.

The 2022 ITA Cup is scheduled to run Thursday to Sunday. The eight advancing teams will compete in the national quarterfinals Friday before Saturday's semifinals. The 2022 ITA Cup national championships matches are scheduled for Sunday.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Nikki Boyar: 5' 2"; Graduate Student

Blythe Buntrock: 5' 8"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Nikki Boyar
: 5' 2"; Graduate Student

Blythe Buntrock
: 5' 8"; Junior