Decorah, Iowa – Lauren Hom, a sophomore from Gustavus Adolphus College, was crowned the 2004 Wilson/ITA Midwest Region singles champion this afternoon. Hom defeated sophomore teammate Jaime Gaard 6-3, 6-1 in the finals to claim her first Wilson/ITA regional title. Hom advanced to the championship match with an impressive 6-1, 6-4 victory over the #13 seed, Annalise Conaway of Luther College.
It was an all Gustavus final as the #1 seeds Lauren Hom and Kara Smiley defeated teammates and #2 seeds Marla Menne and Lyndsey Palen. Hom and Smiley posted an 8-5 victory in the championship match, securing a trip to the Wilson/ITA National Small College Championships. This was the first regional championship for this duo that lost just 13 games en route to the title.
To reach the finals, Hom and Smiley needed to defeat teammates #3 seeds Jamie Gaard and Jenni White 8-2 in the semifinals. Menne and Palen advanced to the championship tilt with an 8-6 victory over #5 seeds Elizca Buys and Kelly Mikkila of Carthage College.
All results can be found on the Luther College athletics web site.
The singles and doubles champions from this weekend’s tournament will travel to Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers on Oct. 14-17, to participate in the Wilson/ITA National Small College Championships.
(Information courtesy of Dave Blanchard, Luther sports information)