{"id":921237,"date":"2026-10-05T07:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T07:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/921237\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T07:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T07:30:09","slug":"womens-tennis-collects-three-top-3-singles-finishes-at-spartan-invite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/921237\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Tennis Collects Three Top-3 Singles Finishes at Spartan Invite"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2013 DePaul women’s tennis competed to three top-three individual finishes in the 2026-27 season-opening weekend at the Spartan Invite, headlined by Helin Alvarez’s<\/a> Flight E championship sweep, Clara Nilsson’s<\/a> runner-up finish in Flight C and Sasha Sakura Stula<\/a> taking third place in Flight A.
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\nAs a team, the Blue Demons finished with a 12-9 singles record over three days.
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\nAlvarez opened the season with a flawless finish, dropping just one of seven sets in the Flight E bracket. The senior opened play with her closest victory margin on Friday, taking a 6-3, 6-7 [2-7], 6-1 victory over Western Michigan’s Julia Frazier. From there, Alvarez only conceded seven total games on her way to clinching Flight E, playing Marquette’s Elena Duva to a 7-6 [7-4], 6-0 victory and capping off the weekend with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Marquette’s Kate Thorne.
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\nIn Flight C, Nilsson battled to Sunday’s championship final on the heels of back-to-back three-set comeback wins on Friday \u2014 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 over Northwestern’s Katya Shepherd \u2014 and Saturday\u2014 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 over Western Michigan’s Pei Chi Ho. In the championship match Sunday, Nilsson finished runner-up after a hard-fought 7-5, 6-2 loss to Michigan State’s Ariane Lesterhuis.
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\nSakura Stula’s road to a third-place finish in the tournament’s premier division came after split results on the first two days. On Friday, Sakura Stula reached a three-set victory, 4-6, 7-6 [7-5], 6-0 over Northwestern’s Philippa F\u00e4rber before falling 4-6, 1-6 to Michigan State’s Lu Mengquio. The senior then stormed back the last day of competition with a decisive 6-4, 6-1 win over Michigan State’s Nina Plihal to clinch third place.
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\nDePaul’s 12-win singles weekend was further bolstered by key individual performances across draws.
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\nIn Flight B, Yasemin Pehlivan<\/a> responded to a first-day, two-set loss to Michigan State with consecutive three-set victories over Western Michigan on Saturday \u2014 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 \u2014 and Northwestern on Sunday \u2014 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 [7-3].
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\nThe weekend also featured a career milestone for freshman Leni Prankl<\/a>, who notched her first collegiate victory on Saturday with a straight set victory, 7-5, 7-5, over Marquette’s Elizabeth Stuckslager.
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\nRoberta Sechi<\/a> also closed out her singles slate on a high note, outlasting Western Michigan with a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win. With the comeback victory, Sechi joined Nilsson, Pehlivan and Sakura Stula with a 2-1 singles mark for the tournament.
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\nIn doubles action on Friday, DePaul dropped four tight contests as the squad experimented with a new series of lineups.
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\nSpartan Invite Results
\nFriday, Oct. 2
\nDoubles
\nFitcher\/Yaguchi (WMU) def. Roberta Sechi<\/a>\/Helin Alvarez<\/a> (DPU), 8-5
\nMengqiao\/Bowles (MSU) def. Sasha Sakura Stula<\/a>\/Yasemin Pehlivan<\/a> (DPU), 8-4
\nHostakovs\/Frazier (WMU) def. Eleanor Cochran<\/a>\/Leni Prankl<\/a> (DPU), 8-5
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\nSingles
\nSasha Sakura Stula<\/a> (DPU) def. F\u00e4rber (NU), 4-6, 7-6 [7-5], 6-0
\nClara Nilsson<\/a> (DPU) def. Shepherd (NU), 1-6, 6-1, 6-1
\nBowles (MSU) def. Yasemin Pehlivan<\/a> (DPU) 2-6, 4-6
\nRoberta Sechi<\/a> (DPU) def. Syrtveit (MSU)\u00a04-6, 6-1, 6-3
\nPoon (MU) def. Eleanor Cochran<\/a> (DPU), 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
\nHostakova (WMU) def. Leni Prankl<\/a> (DPU), 6-2, 7-5
\nHelin Alvarez<\/a> (DPU) def. Frazier (WMU), 6-3, 6-7 [2-7], 6-1
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\nSaturday, Oct. 3
\nSingles
\nMengqiao (MSU) def. Sasha Sakura Stula<\/a> (DPU), 6-4, 6-1
\nBarnstedt (MU) def. Roberta Sechi<\/a> (DPU), 7-6 [7-3], 6-2
\nYasemin Pehlivan<\/a> (DPU) def. Yaguchi (WMU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
\nClara Nilsson<\/a> (DPU) def. Ho (WMU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
\nParreira (EMU) def. Eleanor Cochran<\/a> (DPU) 6-2, 6-1
\nLeni Prankl<\/a> (DPU) def. Stuckslager (MU), 7-5, 7-5
\nHelin Alvarez<\/a> (DPU) def. Duva (MU), 7-6 [7-4], 6-0
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\nSunday, Oct. 4
\nSingles
\nSasha Sakura Stula<\/a> (DPU) def. Plihal (MSU), 6-4, 6-1
\nYasemin Pehlivan<\/a> (DPU) def. Arai (NU), 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 [7-3]
\nLesterhuis (MSU) def. Clara Nilsson<\/a> (DPU) 7-5, 6-2
\nParreira (EMU) def. Leni Prankl<\/a> (DPU), 6-1, 6-2
\nStuckslager (MU) def. Eleanor Cochran<\/a> (DPU), 6-3, 6-4
\nHelin Alvarez<\/a> (DPU) def. Thorne (MU), 6-1, 6-0
\nRoberta Sechi<\/a> (DPU) def. Fitcher (WMU), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
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\nNext Up
\nThe Blue Demons set their sights quickly on the second tournament of the 2026-27 fall season, heading to Urbana-Champaign, Ill., to compete at the ITA Midwest Regionals from Thursday, Oct. 8 through Monday, Oct. 12.
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\nFOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS
\nFor all the latest information on DePaul Women’s Tennis, visit DePaulBlueDemons.com<\/a>. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Blue Demons on Instagram<\/a> and X<\/a>.
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