Women's Tennis 9/24/2023 4:23:00 PM Chris Brannick

REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!

Blythe Buntrock and Pete Komada Win ITA Central Regional Doubles Championship Sunday In Edmond

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma's dominance on the Central Region tennis courts continued this weekend as Pete Komada and Blythe Buntrock won the ITA Regional Doubles Championship at Edmond Center Court Sunday afternoon.

The duo went 5-0 to claim the title and punch their ticket to Rome, Georgia and next month's ITA Cup.

"I'm proud of them for their hard work and determination," UCO head women's tennis coach Joe Vann said. "What they did this weekend was no easy task and they deserve all the credit."

Vann had another highlight as Karyna Yurchenko won the Singles B Draw. While she doesn't advance to the ITA Cup, it was a big weekend for the sophomore from Ukraine.

"Karyna deserves so much credit too," Vann said. "She played so good this weekend. We are very proud of her for winning that draw. That was also not an easy task and she did great."

UCO has earned an ITA Central Region title in each of the past five editions of the tournament. A singles title in 2018 was followed by a doubles title in 2019. After the tournament was canceled in 2020, the Bronchos continued to dominate in the fall event. UCO has won the doubles title now in 2021, 2022, and 2023 to along with another singles title in 2021.

And it's the second title for Buntrock. The senior from Las Vegas, Nev. claimed the ITA Central Regional Doubles Championship last year with Nikki Boyar before making their way to the No. 1 ranking in the country and earning All-American honors.

This weekend, the duo won 8-5 over Harding's Grace Dodd and Madison Stafford on Friday evening. Saturday, they beat Henderson State's Jenna Bohnert and Angela Georgieva, 8-0, before knocking off Augustana's Gabriela Jancikova and Simon-Maria Karaouza, 8-4. That put them in the semifinals Sunday. Up first was Washburn's Isabella Martensson and Renske Ubachs, where the Bronchos won 8-5. Then in the championship match, against another Washburn duo in Maja Jung and Lara Schmid, it was the Bronchos taking it again. In a two-set final, the Bronchos won 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to claim the crown.

Yurchenko won 6-0, 6-1 over Fort Hays State's Tirzah Bailey on Friday before picking up two wins on Saturday. She picked up a 6-2, 6-0 win over Washburn's Amber Young, and then beat Washburn's Maddie Shelley 6-0, 6-3 to reach the semifinals Sunday.

Yurchenko was tested in the semifinals. She dropped her first set to Harding's Stafford, but rebounded with a second-set win before taking the match in the tiebreaker, 1-6, 6-4, 10-6. That put her in the title match and things went similar there. Facing Leah Gonzales-Edwards of Northeastern State, Yurchenko won the first set before falling in the second. Then she won the tiebreaker to claim the Singles B Draw title with a 6-0, 4-6, 10-8 win.

Buntrock and Komada will head to the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia next month. Each of the eight regional champions will be matched up with eight at-large selections and the 16-team national championships will take place Oct. 12-16.

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Players Mentioned

Nikki Boyar: 5' 2"; Graduate Student

Blythe Buntrock: 5' 8"; Senior

Pete Komada: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Karyna Yurchenko: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Nikki Boyar
: 5' 2"; Graduate Student

Blythe Buntrock
: 5' 8"; Senior

Pete Komada
: 5' 5"; Sophomore

Karyna Yurchenko
: 5' 6"; Sophomore