BLACKSBURG, Va. - William & Mary women's tennis sophomore Mira Kernagis advanced to the main draw of the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship on Thursday afternoon.
 
Kernagis picked up a pair of straight-set wins in the qualifying singles draw to earn a spot in the 64-player main draw where she will join senior Sia Chaudry and junior Francesca Davis.
 
In the opening round, Kernagis jumped out to a quick set advantage over Virginia Tech's Kirsten Woods, 6-2. The Tribe sophomore led 3-0 in the second when Woods retired due to injury. She earned her spot in the main draw by defeating Richmond's Beatriz Guerra, 7-5, 6-2, in the second round. With the win, Kernagis improved to 5-2 on the year and was one of 16 players to earn a spot in the main draw, which begins on Friday.
 
Freshman Tilda Larsson won her opening round qualifying match in come-from-behind fashion over Loyola Maryland's Mia Matriccino. After dropping the opening set, 7-5, the Tribe rookie bounced back with matching 6-2 wins in the final two sets for her second win of the fall. She jumped out to a set lead over qualifying draw No. 12 seed Aida Eissa of Maryland, winning the first, 6-2, in the second round. Unfortunately, the Terrapin player responded with narrow tiebreaker wins in each of the final two sets to earn the spot in the main draw.
 
After dropping her opening round match to the qualifying draw's No. 15 seed Maria Turchetto of Navy, senior Emma Pell tallied her sixth win of the fall season in the consolation draw. She dropped just two games in a convincing, 6-0, 6-2, win over Virginia Tech's Sirena Waas.
 
The main draw for both singles and doubles starts on Friday, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center and the Washington Street Courts in Blacksburg. Live video will be available for the regional, but only at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.  
 
W&M Results from the ITA Atlantic Region Championships
Qualifying Draw First Round
#15 Maria Turchetto (Navy) def. Emma Pell (W&M) - 7-6 (1), 6-4
#6 Mira Kernagis (W&M) def. Kirsten Woods (VT) - 6-2, 3-0, retired
Tilda Larsson (W&M) def. Mia Matriccino (Loyola) - 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
Nicole Fu (Navy) def. Yaelle Vaissaud (W&M) - 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
 
Second Round
#6 Mira Kernagis (W&M) def. Beatriz Guerra (Richmond) - 7-5, 6-2
#12 Aida Eissa (Maryland) def. Tilda Larsson (W&M) - 2-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4)  
 
Consolation
Emma Pell (W&M) def. Sirena Waas (VT) - 6-0, 6-2
Ashely Kennedy (Georgetown) def. Yaelle Vaissaud (W&M) - 6-3, 6-2