She came, she served, and she conquered — again.
For the third year in a row, Penn women’s tennis junior Esha Velaga has qualified for the NCAA Division I women’s singles tournament after winning the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Regional Singles Championship held at Penn this year. Velaga secured her spot in the championship by clinching a 7-6, 6-1 semifinal win on Monday against Penn State’s Maiko Uchijima, battling through a tough first set but dominating the second. This impressive win allowed Velaga to make history as the first Penn tennis player to qualify for the NCAA championships three years in a row.
“Freshman year, when I won, it was very new and so that was special. But this one, I feel like I got through a lot of really tight matches and stayed strong mentally,” Velaga said.
Velaga is no stranger to the ITA trophy. After finishing her freshman season with a 29-6 overall record, Velaga was crowned the 2023-24 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Player of the Year. Velaga went on to win the ITA Northeast Super Regional Singles Tournament, being the first Penn player to claim the singles title since 2019. Last year, Velaga also made the finals of the ITA Northeast Regionals, only falling to fellow teammate and 2025 College graduate Sabine Rutlauka.
In this year’s tournament, Velaga emerged on top after a tough battle against Princeton’s Alice Ferlito. After losing the first set 3-6, Velaga came back by winning the next two sets 7-5, 7-5 to secure her second ITA regional championship win in three years.
“I was trying to stay in the match in any way I could. And I kept that mentality throughout the rest of the match, and it really helped,” Velaga said, reflecting on her win.
In last year’s NCAA tournament, Velaga lost early on, facing a tough opponent in the first round. For the upcoming championship, she plans to work on the specifics of her game to prepare.
“For the past two years, I’ve gone into the NCAA tournament kind of scared and I think that’s reflected in my results,” Velaga said. When asked about her goals for this year, she said: “To go in unafraid, really play my tennis.”
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This year’s NCAA championship will be held in Orlando, Fla. starting Nov. 18.
