Trio of women's tennis players play in national semifinals Wednesday

A trio of Eastern Florida State College women's tennis players will play for spots in the finals at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Tyler, Texas.

Sophomores Elena Martinez Prado, Maria Gento and Sara Valentina Ladino will all play in singles semifinals matches at 8 a.m.

Prado will play No. 1 seed Amelia Devlin of Tyler Junior College in the semifinal at No. 2 singles. Prado has won all three matches in straight sets to reach the semifinals. The winner will play for the national title later on Wednesday.

Gento is back in the semifinals for the second straight year and will play No. 2 seed Cynthia Wanjala of Cowley College in the semifinal at No. 3 singles. Gento reached the semifinal at No. 4 singles last season. The sophomore is the No. 3 seed and has won both matches in straight sets in the tournament.

Ladino is the No. 5 seed at No. 5 singles and has reached the semifinals after winning both matches in straight sets. Ladino will play No. 1 seed Younsoo Cho of Hillsborough Community College for a spot in the final. The two are meeting for the first time at 8 a.m.

The winners of the semifinal matches will play later in the day for the national title in each flight.

The No. 3 doubles team of Ladino and Laura Yans lost in the semifinals on Tuesday in a tight match with No. 2 seed Naghely Garcia and Cynthia Wanjala from Cowley College. The duo from Cowley edged Ladino and Yans 7-6 and 7-5 to advance to the final.

The Titans enter the day in fifth place in the national tournament, nine points behind leader Hillsborough Community College.