SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Lynn University's Salma Djoubri, the ITA D-II National Champion, defeated Utah's Marcela Lopez in the Round of 32 (6-3, 7-5) at the D-I ITA National Fall Championships on Wednesday afternoon. Djoubri, the lone Division-II player in the tournament, earned a bid to the D-I National Championships after winning the ITA D-II National Championship.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Last season, Djoubri was named the ITA National Rookie of the Year and an All-American as a freshman. The sophomore finished last season with a No. 11 rank and a 15-4 record
- Lopez was the ITA Mountain Region Freshman of the Year in 2023 and had a 15-5 record (5-4 in PAC-12). The sophomore has a 6-2 record this season prior to today's matchup
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Djoubri cruised to a 6-3 victory over Lopez in the first set
- She opened a 3-0 lead before Lopez battled back to close the gap to 4-3
- Djoubri won the final two games to win 6-2
- Djoubri secured the victory in set two, defeating Lopez 7-5
- She opened a 4-2 lead and Lopez again battled back to knot the set at 5-5
- Djoubri captured the final two games to close the match
 
UP NEXT
Djoubri has a matchup set with Oklahoma State's Ange Oby Kajuru in the Round of 16, the No. 3 seed in the tournament tomorrow morning at 9:00 am Pacific time. Kajuru was First Team All-Big 12 in Singles and Doubles last season. The sophomore was 25-6 last season and was named a member of the All-Big 12 All-Freshman team.