Player and Rookie of the Week
Anaya Brons, St. Thomas Aquinas
Freshman | Utrecht, Netherlands
Brons reached the semifinals of the ITA East Region Championships. The freshman from Utrecht, Netherlands took down Adelphi’s Caterina Federici in the Round of 64, Franklin Pierce’s Polina Georgieva in the Round of 32, and New Haven’s Lois Tsui in the Round of 16 before falling to New Haven’s Karim Carreras in the semifinals. In doubles with Elita Silins, Brons reached the Round of 16.
ECC Weekly Honor Roll
Maja Makal, Queens
Graduate Student | Bialystok, Poland
Seeded 12th in the ITA East Region Championships, Makal advanced to the Round of 16, going 2-1 in singles play. The ECC Preseason Player of the Year began the tournament with a two-set sweep over New Haven’s Leni Bischof to the score of 6-0, 6-3 before defeating Southern New Hampshire’s No. 22 Dajana Abadzic, 6-2, 6-1, in the Round of 32. The senior fell in the Round of 16 in a three-set loss against New Haven’s No. 18 Risako Umekuni to the score of 7-5, 4-6, 12-10. In the doubles portion, Makal and Saga Berggren advanced to the Round of 16.
Desire Parn, District of Columbia
Freshman | Parnu, Estonia
Parn made a statement in her collegiate debut, reaching the quarterfinals for both singles and doubles at the ITA East Region Championships, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY this weekend. In the Round of 64, Parn cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over ECC foe Alice Fartushynska of Molloy. The UDC freshman then went on to defeat Wilmington’s Molly Carlberg in a three-set match-up, 7-6, 2-6, 11-9, in the Round of 32. In the Round of 16, Parn defeated her Ming Fu Chen of Wilmington in two straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, to qualify for the quarterfinals, where she eventually fell to New Havens Karim Carreras 1-6, 3-6.
In doubles play, Parn teamed up with 2023 ECC Rookie of the Year Polina Zelenstova, opening play with a Round of 32 win over ECC foes Caroline Fawzy and Sakura Santo of Queens, 8-3. The pair went on to defeat Wilmington’s Kush Khandoji Santosh and Siana Macdonald, 8-3, to qualify for the quarterfinals before eventually falling to New Haven’s Karim Carreras and Valentinna Ferrarini, 2-8.
Regina Ruiz, Queens
Junior | Mexico City, Mexico
Seeded 29th in the ITA East Region Championships, Ruiz was the second Knight to advance to the Round of 16. Ruiz began the tournament with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Franklin Pierce’s Gabriela Almeida in the Round of 64. In the next round, Ruiz defeated Assumption’s Laurence Bosemans to the score of 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. Her tournament run would come to an end in the Round of 16 against Chestnut Hill College’s No. 13 Alison Isaac to the score of 6-4, 6-2.
Kitsa Scime, Daemen
Senior | Williamsville, NY
Scime defeated Mercedes Velasco of Division I Niagara University, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, at No. 2 singles on Sunday. Earlier in the week, Scime defeated McKenna Ellis of Nazareth without dropping a game, 6-0, 6-0. With the wins, Scime remained undefeated in singles matches during the 2024 season and moved to within eight wins of the program record for singles victories.
Polina Zelenstova, District of Columbia
Sophomore | Chaiky, Ukraine
Zelenstova made it to the quarterfinals in doubles play and the Round of 32 in singles play at the ITA East Region Championships. She defeated Franklin Pierce’s Ana Isabel Munoz Hernandez, 7-6, 6-1, in the Round of 64 before falling to New Haven’s Victoria Togores, 4-6, 3-6, in the Round of 32. In doubles play, Zelentsova teamed up with Desire Parn, opening play with a Round of 32 win over ECC foes Caroline Fawzy and Sakura Santo of Queens, 8-3. The pair went on to defeat Wilmington’s Kush Khandoji Santosh and Siana Macdonald, 8-3, to qualify for the quarterfinals before eventually falling to New Haven’s Karim Carreras and Valentinna Ferrarini, 2-8.
ECC Women's Tennis Weekly Award Winners
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Kitsa Scime, Daemen
Sept. 17 - Anaya Brons, St. Thomas Aquinas
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Bella Bjerkan, Daemen
Sept. 17 - Anaya Brons, St. Thomas Aquinas
Previously in the Polls
INTERCOLLEGIATE TENNIS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL POLL
(First Rankings Released in Mid-November)
INTERCOLLEGIATE TENNIS ASSOCIATION EAST REGION POLL
(First Rankings Released in Mid-November)
NCAA EAST REGION RANKINGS
(Released in April 2025)
ECC PRESEASON POLL
1. Queens (34 points, 4 first-place votes)
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (31 points, 2 first-place votes)
3. District of Columbia (24 points)
4. Daemen (18 points)
5. D'Youville (11 points)
6. Molloy (8 points)