Fordham Women’s Tennis made team history at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regional Championships, which took place from Oct. 9 to 14 at the University of Pennsylvania. Two singles players and one doubles team made it to the round of 16, with the doubles team ultimately winning their event.
According to Michael Sowter, head coach of the women’s tennis team, having this many players in the championships was a first.
“We’re all really excited. It’s never happened in the history of Fordham tennis,” Sowter said.
Paola Dalmonico, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’28, won two matches 6-0 and 6-1, respectively, to ultimately make it to the round of 16. Nevena Kolarevic, FCRH ’26 also made it to the round of 16. Both Dalmonico and Kolarevic were defeated by opponents who were playing in their school’s state, with Kolarevic’s opponent even competing on her own university’s turf.
“This kind of experience … most people dream of (it), and to be able to even qualify for it is kind of like a dream come true.” Julianne Nguyen, FCRH ’27
Kolarevic and Julianne Nguyen, FCRH ’27, played as a doubles team and won five matches in the main draw to make it to the final. They faced off against Olivia Dorner and Maiko Uchijima, both Penn State University (PSU) ’26. Kolarevic and Nguyen defeated the PSU team 6-3 and 7-5, earning the ITA Regionals Division I Women’s Doubles Championship title.
“They work hard together, they play well together, they have good chemistry, their play styles match up really well and they’ve just been doing it for week after week, and it’s culminated in this tournament,” Sowter said.
Kolarevic and Nguyen were also awarded a spot in the NCAA Women’s Doubles National Championships, which take place in Florida. Sowter highlighted the importance of Fordham’s entry into the selective competition.
“They’re going to be one of the top 32 teams out of, you know, 300 schools,” he said. “Over 900 teams are competing for these 32 spots, so for them to be able to make a tournament of this caliber, it’s really a big deal, and I just hope that the people understand how impressive it is for them to get to this stage.”
Nguyen reiterated the sentiment and said that she was looking forward to representing Fordham.
“This kind of experience … most people dream of (it), and to be able to even qualify for it is kind of like a dream come true, so I’m really excited to be able to play with some of the best players in the country, and … just show everyone what we’re made of and bring Fordham’s name into the conversation more,” she said.
Kolarevic and Nguyen are no strangers to success. Last year, they won the Atlantic 10 (A10) Masters Doubles Championships.
“That was our first tournament together as a pair, and we ended up winning it against some of the top teams in our conference,” Nguyen said. “That was when (Sowter) realized that we were good together.”
“One of the big things with doubles, especially, is how to make your opponents as uncomfortable as possible.” Michael Sowter, Head Coach of Women’s Tennis
Sowter emphasized Kolarevic and Nguyen’s compatibility as a doubles pair and praised their strategy on the court.
“One of the big things with doubles, especially, is how to make your opponents as uncomfortable as possible,” he said. “They do a really good job of incorporating different strategies and different styles to make their opponents uncomfortable, which is not always easy to do.”
Sowter and Nguyen both expressed confidence in the pair’s abilities for the championships in Florida.
“I think that we have a good momentum to carry off of,” Nguyen said. “I think we’ve been doing the right things in practice … we’ve been under a lot of pressure in matches and we showed a lot of grit and passion.”
Sowter agreed, saying that “Julianne has exceptional volleys of the net and really good instincts. Nevena — we nicknamed her ‘The Sniper’ because she could just hit any target from anywhere from the baseline.”
Kolarevic is currently in a winning streak; she also won the A10 Masters singles championship earlier this month, qualifying her for the singles tournament in the ITA Conference Masters Championships.
Kolarevic will take to the courts solo in California at the ITA Masters Championships from Nov. 6 to 9. She and Nguyen will play as a duo in the NCAA Championships from Nov. 18 to 23.
