Kalamazoo, Mich. – The Transylvania women's tennis team competed on one of the brightest stages in Division III tennis this weekend at the ITA Central Regionals, held on the campus of Kalamazoo College.

Four Pioneers represented the Transylvania women's tennis team over the weekend in a single-elimination bracket tournament-style competition which featured players from multiple top-10 teams in the nation at the Division III level.

Seniors Porsche Robinson and Jessica Burton, sophomore Grace Gardner, and freshman Katherine Taylor each competed against the best of the best over the course of Friday and Saturday as the Pioneers tested their mettle early in the 2021-22 season.

Competing as unseeded entries, Robinson and Burton teamed up in the round of 32 to win their doubles match against the No. 5 seeded team in their draw, a duo from Hope College by the score of 8-4. The Transy duo advanced to the final 16 on Saturday, falling in a morning match to a team from Case Western University, which finished as the doubles bracket runner-up.

In singles play, Gardner was placed into an opening round matchup against the bracket's No. 1 seed, Sylwia Mikos out of the University of Chicago. Mikos prevailed in straight sets against Gardner in a battle of two talented newcomers in the Central region.

Taylor rose to the occasion, falling in a third-set tiebreaker to Millikin's Emily Markus, 6-4, 3-6, 11-9. Taylor also squared off an hour later against a top seed player from Kenyon College.

Transylvania women's tennis head coach Bill Carey took inventory of a promising weekend for a Pioneer team which showed off its depth and balance between veterans and newcomers: "After spending the weekend watching four of our players compete against the very best in Division III women's tennis, I am incredibly happy," commented Carey. "The present and future are both very bright as a freshman, a sophomore, and two seniors went toe-to-toe with teams who are always found in the final rounds of the NCAA Tournament and performed exceptionally. They turned a lot of heads and represented themselves and Transylvania superbly."

The Pioneers will look to build upon their tough test at ITA Regionals when they resume conference play on Saturday, October 2 against the Manchester University Spartans at the Transy Tennis Courts on campus in Lexington.

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