(LA MIRADA, Calif.)
Alina Kupfer won the ITA West Regional singles championship on Saturday, becoming the first PLNU player in the program's NCAA Division II era to achieve the feat.
"It feels incredible, honestly," Kupfer said. "To be the first at PLNU is really special, and I'm proud to represent the school in that way. On the last point, everything just hit me at once. It was one of those moments where all the hard work and tough matches leading up to this felt worth it, and I was just so grateful to celebrate it with my coaches and teammates."
Kupfer, the No. 2 seed, completed a dominant run through the tournament in which she didn't lose a single set.
"I really took it round by round, staying in the moment," Kupfer said. "That helped me not get overwhelmed and just focus on what I could control. Another huge key was the support of my teammates and coaches. They were cheering and believing in me the whole time, and that energy helped me so much."
In the semifinals on Saturday, Kupfer took care of Colorado Mesa's Devyn Rodriguez 7-5, 6-1. She then defeated Fresno Pacific's Fabiana Gonzalez in the championship (6-2, 7-5), overcoming a 2-5 deficit in the second set.
"My mentality was just to keep fighting for every single point and not give up," Kupfer said. "I kept reminding myself of what my coach always tells me:
'If you play your game, great things will happen.' That helped me stay focused, trust my game, and believe I could turn it around even when I was down 2-5."
Gonzalez had previously defeated PLNU's
Anna Pallencaoe in the semifinals, requiring three sets to get past the No. 8 seed, as two Sea Lions featured among the final four singles players.
Pallencaoe and Emely Valencia finished second in the doubles portion of the tournament, marking the second straight year that Point Loma had at least a finalist in doubles.
The PLNU duo won four straight matches to reach Saturday's final before falling 3-6, 0-6 to No. 4 seed Karola Suviste and Stina Larsson of Azusa Pacific in the championship.
By winning the ITA West Regional singles title, Kupfer now advances to compete in the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia from Oct. 16-19.
