CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It was a memorable week at the ITA Midwest Regionals for Notre Dame women’s tennis sophomore Bianca Molnar, who punched both her singles and doubles ticket to the NCAA Championships in November. Molnar, along with her doubles partner Bojana Pozder, claimed the ITA Midwest Doubles crown on Tuesday after rallying down the first set to take it 1-6, 6-3, 10-5 against Northwestern’s Feldman/Dagan Fruchtman.
Molnar and Pozder become the first Fighting Irish duo to win the ITA Midwest doubles title since Kelcy Tefft and Kristy Frilling in 2008.
Later this afternoon, Molnar competed in the singles main draw championship match. She was looking to become just the second women’s player in program history to win both doubles and singles. Unfortunately, Molnar came up short, falling 6-1, 6-1 to Ohio State’s Nao Nishino.
However, since she was a singles finalist, she qualified for the NCAA Singles Championships in November as well.
All-in-all, three Irish reached the Round of 16 at the ITA Midwest Regionals – Molnar, Pozder and Sophia Holod. The latter earned three wins, including one against a ranked opponent, to reach the quarterfinals, where she fell to Nishino as well.
ABOUT THE NCAA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The NCAA Individual Championships are in the second year of a two-year pilot program designed by the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee, which positions the NCAA Division I Individual Championships in November rather than in May following the NCAA Team Championships.
This year’s NCAA Individual Championships will take athletes to Lake Nona, Florida, where they will compete at the USTA National Campus. These championships will take place from November 18-23.
Consisting of four events in which players can qualify, the NCAA Individual Championship pathway is made up of the ITA All-American Championships, ITA Regional Championships, ITA Sectional Championships, and ITA Conference Masters Championships.
ABOUT ITA MIDWEST REGIONALS
The two singles finalists and the doubles champion from each regional will automatically qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships, set to take place at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 18-23, 2025.
SINGLES MAIN DRAW RESULTS
- R64: Bianca Molnar (ND) def. #65 Audrey Spencer (OSU), 6-4, 6-1
- R32: Bianca Molnar (ND) def. Laura Rahnel (MICH), 6-1, 6-2
- R16: Bianca Molnar (ND) def. Tianna Rangan (WIS), 6-3, 6-1
- QF: Bianca Molnar (ND) def. Ekaterina Ivanova (WIS), 6-4, 7-6(6)
- SF: Bianca Molnar (ND) def. #26 Lily Jones (MICH), 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
- C: #60 Nao Nishino (OSU) def. Bianca Molnar (ND), 6-1, 6-1
- R64: Kaede Usui (WIS) def. Esther Vyrlan (ND), 6-1, 6-1
- R64: #44 Akari Matsuno (ND) def. Hanna Tsitavets (MSU), 6-3, 6-0
- R32: Ekaterina Ivanova (WIS) def. #44 Akari Matsuno (ND), 7-5, 6-1
- R64: Sophia Holod (ND) def. Camila Sanchez (CS), 6-2, 6-2
- R32: Sophia Holod (ND) def. Cara Mester (ILL), 6-1, 6-0
- R16: Sophia Holod (ND) def. #107 Reese Miller (MICH), 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
- QF: #60 Nao Nishino (OSU) def. Sophia Holod (ND), 6-0, 7-6(4)
- R64: Bojana Pozder (ND) def. Laura Maser (MICH), 6-2, 6-4
- R32: Bojana Pozder (ND) vs. Lola Glantz (WMU), 6-1, 6-3
- R16: Hephzibah Oluwadare (OSU) def. Bojana Pozder (ND), 7-5, 6-4
- R64: Lucie Urbanova (WIS) def. Mari-Louise Van Zyl (ND), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
DOUBLES MAIN DRAW RESULTS
- R64: Matsuno/Holod (ND) def. Smitek/Khotko (WMU), 8-6
- R32: Matsuno/Holod (ND) def. Pukhina/Belogliadova (BRAD), 8-2
- R16: Xu/Bucher (ILL) def. Matsuno/Holod (ND), 8-6
- R64: Kovalcik/Van Zyl (ND) def. Pehlivan/Sechi (DEP), 8-2
- R32: Ivanova/Reynoldson (WIS) def. Kovalcik/Van Zyl (ND), 8-1
- R32: #84 Pozder/Molnar (ND) def. Seccia/Madatali (ILL), 8-4
- R16: #84 Pozder/Molnar (ND) def. Smith/Nilsson (DEP), 8-3
- QF: #84 Pozder/Molnar (ND) def. Cisse-Ignatiev/Johnson (OSU), 8-1
- SF: #84 Pozder/Molnar (ND) def. Reynoldson/Ivanova (WIS), 6-4, 6-2
- F: #84 Pozder/Molnar (ND) def. Dagan Fruchtman/Feldman (NW), 1-6, 6-3, 10-5
CONSOLATION
- Sasha Sakura Stula (DEP) def. Jessica Kovalcik (ND), 6-4, 6-4
- Erica Jessel (NW) def. Esther Vyrlan (ND), 6-4, 6-3
- Marilouise Van Zyl (ND) def. Elise Barnstedt (MARQ), 4-6, 6-1, 10-7
— ND —