Tarleton State Tennis makes second straight appearance at ITA Conference Masters Championships

ROME, Ga. – Tarleton State Tennis' Maria Castano and Aya Ishii will represent the United Athletic Conference at the ITA Conference Masters Championships starting Thursday at Shorter University.

Both Castano and Ishii won their second consecutive fall conference individual titles to clinch the UAC's automatic bid to the event. Castano won the UAC Fall Individual singles title and partnered with Ishii to win the UAC Fall Individual doubles title as well.

Castano will face Charleston Southern's Carlota Farrés Carreter in the first round of the singles draw on Thursday at 11 a.m. CT. The 2026 Conference Player of the Year was Tarleton State's first-ever singles representative in the ITA Conference Masters Championships last year. A win would mark the program's first-ever singles win in the event.

As the No. 4 seed in the UAC Fall Individual Singles Championship, Castano faced Ishii in the singles final. The Texans showed their competitive spirit against each other in the final, splitting the first two sets. Castano edged out her sophomore teammate to retain her singles title, winning 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 over Ishii.

Castano will pair with Ishii to face Liberty's Maria Turchetto and Yoanna Radulova in the first round of doubles on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. CT. The duo won the program's first-ever ITA Conference Masters Championships match in San Diego last November. The duo defeated North Alabama's Emma Ansorge/Mathilde Delaney 6-4, 6-4 in the UAC Fall Individual Championships doubles final.

Fans can watch the action online for free. The ITA will stream all courts at the event on their YouTube page.

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Players Mentioned

Maria Castano: Sophomore

Aya Ishii: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Maria Castano
: Sophomore

Aya Ishii
: Freshman