CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's tennis team claimed a nail-biting 4-3 victory over Charleston in the NCAA Atlantic Region No. 2 finals on Saturday at the Charleston Tennis Club. With the match tied at 3-all, freshman Julia Daszkiewicz won in her third set to send the Yellow Jackets to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA DII Championship.

The doubles point went to UC to give the Golden Eagles the early advantage, 1-0. Freshman Julieta Beltramino then made quick work of her opponent at No. 4 singles to even the score, 1-1. 

No. 1 singles finished next in favor of Charleston to give UC the edge again, 2-1. Not long after, freshman Lea Rolland won an 11-9 tiebreaker to take No. 5 singles and tie the match once more, 2-2.

Junior Maya Haidari then came back to win at No. 3 singles to finally give WVSU the lead for the first time in the match, 3-2. The lead was short lived, however, as Charleston claimed the No. 2 singles match to tie it back up at 3-all.

After dropping the first set, Daszkiewicz won the second set and was pressured with a match-deciding third set. She rose to the challenge and cruised to victory in the third set to end Charleston's season and keep West Virginia State's season alive. 

WVSU defeated UC, 4-3, during the regular season but lost to UC, 2-4, in the finals of the MEC Championship. This victory gave the bragging rights back to the Yellow Jackets for another year. 

West Virginia State will now advance to the finals of the NCAA DII Women's Tennis Championship on May 17-21 in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Rollins College and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission will serve as hosts.The last time that WVSU advanced to the Sweet 16 was during the 2019-20 season.