Ferris State Doubles Tandem Earns Invitation To 2021 ITA Cup Championships

Big Rapids, Mich. - A pair of Ferris State University women's tennis standouts, Sam Stephenson and Morgan Waller, have been chosen to compete as at-large selections for the 2021 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Cup set for this coming week in Rome, Ga.

The Bulldog doubles tandem, who earned runner-up honors at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships in late September, were among the at-large selections chosen from the group of regional finalists and nationally-ranked performers across the country. They will take part in the event Oct. 14-17 at the Rome Tennis Center held at Berry College in Georgia.

This year marks the first time since 2006 in which a Bulldog women's doubles team has qualified for the national event.

Formerly known as the Small College Nationals, the ITA Cup has a history dating back to 1986, and it is the only singles and doubles national championship event for the Division II and NAIA levels. In 2019, more then 8,000 players took part in a total of 60 regional tournaments to gain entry into the ITA Cup field.

Each division represented will feature between eight and sixteen singles players and eight to sixteen doubles teams, competing in their respective draws.

Waller and Stephenson earned their at-large invitation to the ITA Cup after an impressive showing at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships held Sept. 18-20 in Indianapolis where they finished with a 4-1 record on the weekend. The duo, en route to reaching the finals of the main draw, upset the nation's #2-ranked tandem of Sofia Sharanova and Maria Solnyshkina from UIndy in the quarterfinals before topping a Southwest Baptist (Mo.) duo of Diana Cabrera and Paula Ballesteros in the semifinals. Waller and Stephenson suffered a 6-4, 6-1 setback in the regional doubles title match to the University of Indianapolis' Anna Novikova and Bella Dunlap.