MOUNT BARRY, Ga. -- Sonia Smagina will play for the singles national title at the ITA Cup after winning a second consecutive three-set match.  

Smagina defeated Elodie Busson from Hawaii Pacific University in her semifinal matchup to move on to the final day of play. The over three-hour-long match began with both players splitting the first 12 points of set one, 6-6, with neither player going ahead by more than one point. Smagina was able to pull away late and secure a 7-6(3) win in set one.  

Busson came out firing in the second set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead. Smagina made a comeback late but was unable to close the gap, losing 6-3. The third set mirrored the first with neither player leading by more than one point in the set until the end.  

After Busson tied the set at five points, Smagina reeled off the final two points of the set to win and secure her spot in the finals.  

Smagina becomes the second Washburn women's player to play for a national championship in either singles or doubles. The other was Madeline Hill who won the singles title in 2016, the most recent national champion among all Washburn sports.  

In the championship match, Smagina will take on the No. 1 overall seed, Deniz Khazan from Barry University on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. 

In consolation play Smagina and Lara Schmid continued to roll after an opening round loss. The team defeated Franklin Pierce University in two sets with scores of 6-3 and 6-4. 

Down in the South division Tim Hammes and Sebastian Pjontek recoverd after opening the ITA Cup with two losses, defeating Hillsdale College 6-1 and 6-3. 

Both consolation teams will play one final match Sunday afternoon after the conclusion of singles play. 

Women's Singles Play 

Semifinals 

Smagina, Sonia (WU) def. Busson, Elodie (HPU) 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-5