ROME, Ga. - With a year's experience and a second straight ITA Regional title under their belt, the Whitman College women's tennis doubles team of Angel Le and Arianna Castellanos took their first step toward an ITA Cup title. After a first round exit in 2021, second-seeded Le and Castellanos opened with a 2-6, 6-3, 10-3 win over Margaret Carlton and Lauren Long (Washington and Lee) in the round of 16 of the ITA Cup on Thursday held at the Rome Tennis Center.

The duo now squares off on Friday against Alice Hall and Ansley Carpenter from Sewanee: The University of the South. Start time is still to be determined.

"Today was a great win," said Whitman head coach John Hein. "It took a while because the first set Washington and Lee really took it to us and I give so much credit to Arianna and Angel for how they fought the whole match."

After a tough first set, the Whitman pair still needed a second-set rally to even the match. "Once we got to 2-3 and then broke serve, and got a great hold on Angel's serve, that little bit of momentum carried us through the set," described Hein. "The next break was an incredible return game and Ari held to force the match to a tie break. We blended offense and defense, playing some of our best tennis in the tiebreaker to win. I'm just so proud of how we competed against a very good team and I'm excited to play in the quarters tomorrow against Sewanee."