Recap courtesy of Bowling Green's Athletic Communications Department

Friday, Oct. 09
URBANA, Ill. – Senior Libby Blair captured a singles match as the Bowling Green State University women's tennis team began play in the 2026 ITA Midwest Regional on Thursday (Oct. 8). The event, hosted by the University of Illinois, is being held at the Atkins Tennis Center.

Six members of the Falcons are participating in the regional, including Blair and fellow senior Qianyu Liu, juniors Konstantina Adamopoulou and Lucia Gaio, sophomore Kiera Taylor and freshman McKenzie Shelton.

After losing her opening match to Northwestern's Philippa Farber on Thursday, Blair made quick work of Illinois State's Nicole Iosio in the consolation bracket, winning by scores of 6-1 and 6-3.

Gaio and Liu, like Blair, each played matches in the qualifying draw of the singles bracket on Thursday. Shelton has been placed in the main singles draw, and her Round of 64 match will be against Northwestern's Erica Jessel on Friday at approximately 3:30 pm ET.

Doubles action begins Friday (Oct. 9), with three Falcon teams scheduled to be in action. Blair and Taylor will meet the DePaul duo of Sasha Sakura Stula and Clara Nilsson, while the Gaio/Shelton tandem will face WMU's Frida Weijerman and Julie Hostakova. And, Adamopoulou and Liu will take on the UIC team of Marta Halbersztadt and Nia Cooper.

Saturday, Oct. 10
URBANA, Ill. – A Bowling Green State University women's tennis doubles team pulled out a pair of victories on Friday (Oct. 9), in the process advancing to the Round of 16 at the 2026 ITA Midwest Regional. The event, hosted by the University of Illinois, is being held at the Atkins Tennis Center.

Junior Lucia Gaio and freshman McKenzie Shelton picked up a narrow win over Western Michigan's Frida Weijerman and Julie Hostakova in opening-round action, and that Falcon duo then went on to defeat the fifth-seeded team in the 64-team doubles bracket. The Gaio/Shelton tandem gutted out a win, 8-7 (8-6), over Michigan's Laura Rahnel and Olivia Taylor in the Round of 32

Gaio and Shelton move on to the Round of 16, where they will face Ohio State's Audrey Spencer and Anna Bennett on Saturday morning. The Spencer/Bennett duo is seeded ninth in the bracket.

Six members of the Falcons are participating in the regional, including seniors Libby Blair and Qianyu Liu, juniors Konstantina Adamopoulou and Gaio, sophomore Kiera Taylor and freshman Shelton.

Sunday. Oct. 11
URBANA, Ill. – One day after picking up a win over the fifth-seeded doubles team at the 2026 ITA Midwest Regional, Bowling Green State University's Lucia Gaio and McKenzie Shelton gave another seeded duo all they could handle.

On Saturday (Oct. 10), Gaio and Shelton suffered a narrow 8-6 loss to Ohio State's Audrey Spencer and Anna Bennett. That came after the Falcon tandem topped the fifth-seeded team in the 64-team doubles bracket on Friday (Oct. 9), having gutted out a win, 8-7 (8-6), over Michigan's Laura Rahnel and Olivia Taylor in the Round of 32

Six members of the Falcons participated in the regional, hosted by the University of Illinois. That group includes Gaio, a junior, and Shelton, a freshman, along with seniors Libby Blair and Qianyu Liu, junior Konstantina Adamopoulou and sophomore Kiera Taylor.

2026 ITA MIDWEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
SINGLES – QUALIFYING DRAW
Lucia Gaio
Vs. Aely Arai (Northwestern) – Lost 6-4, 6-2
Vs. Valeriia Oleksyn (SIUE) – Lost 6-4, 6-2

Libby Blair
Vs. Philippa Farber (Northwestern) – Lost 7-5, 6-3
Vs. Nicole Iosio (Illinois State) – Won 6-1, 6-3

Qianyu Liu
Vs. Ayana Yaguchi (Western Michigan) – Lost 6-3, 6-3
Vs. Esther Vrylan (Notre Dame) – Lost 6-3, 6-3

SINGLES – MAIN DRAW
McKenzie Shelton
Vs. Erica Jessel (Northwestern) – Lost 6-2, 6-0

DOUBLES – MAIN DRAW
Blair/Kiera Taylor
Vs. Sasha Sakura Stula/Clara Nilsson (DePaul) – Lost 8-6

Gaio/Shelton
Vs. Frida Weijerman/Julie Hostakova (WMU) – Won 8-7 (7-5)
Vs. Laura Rahnel/Olivia Traynor (Michigan) – Won 8-7 (8-6)
Vs. Audrey Spencer/Anna Bennett (Ohio State) – Lost 8-6

Liu/Konstantina Adamopoulou
Vs. Marta Halbersztadt/Nia Cooper (UIC) – Lost 8-2