Women’s tennis player Kristina Paskauskas will advance to the NCAA Singles Championship, along with co-champion Ashton Bowers of Auburn University, in Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 18.
This comes after she claimed the ITA Southern Regional Singles Title at Auburn University on Oct. 17.
Paskauskas defeated multiple opponents including the No. 4 seed as she climbed the ranks of the tournament as the week progressed. She won all of her matches at the tournament in straight sets, never allowing her opponents the chance to take a set.
Paskauskas is a junior transfer from NC State, and her victory at regionals marks her first major title while wearing crimson.
“To be able to represent Alabama to me was such a good thing,” Paskauskas said. “I wanted to make the coaches really proud.”
This is the fourth time in program history a player has won the ITA Women’s Singles Regional Championship title, and the first time since 2023 when Petra Sedlackova brought home the title.
Winning the title was a goal Paskauskas had coming into this year and her first season at Alabama.
Her first year at NC State, she was ineligible to play in the fall season, and then the year after, she fell short of qualifying for ITAs. Going into this year, Paskauskas knew this title was something she wanted to bring home for Alabama.
In preparation, Paskauskas spent a lot of time working specifically on the mental aspect of the sport.
“In the summer, I spent a lot of time working on the mental piece in terms of my routines between points and stuff like that,” Paskauskas said. “During matches that really helped me, knowing that I practiced that a lot and I know my routines.”
She mentioned that journaling is a big part of her routine and has helped her face less anxiety going into matches.
“I love to journal in my free time,” Paskauskas said. “Sometimes when I’m anxious about things, it can become a bit foggy in my mind. I overthink a lot of stuff, so writing things down on paper helps me see things better.”
Her renewed confidence in her skills has also been a big part of what has pushed her so far this fall season, specifically in the regional championships. Paskauskas said her confidence came from her teammates and coaches at Alabama.
“I kind of came into the tournament not having much confidence. Even before I played the All-Americans, I was pretty low on confidence, and I feel like since I’ve been here at Alabama, I’ve been surrounded by such an amazing group of people, like JB, Christina, the girls, and they’ve reassured me,” Paskauskas said, using a nickname for head coach Jonatan Berhane. “I feel like every single match I was playing, especially at regionals, I started gaining more and more confidence.”
Physically, she has been focusing on individual practices with the coaches leading up to regionals and throughout the fall season. Not only has this strengthened her abilities, but it has also strengthened her relationships with the coaches.
“I spent a lot of time working with JB and Christina,” Paskauskas said. “The more times I asked to do individual work, I got to know them better as people, and they started understanding my game, too. It’s just been about spending as much time on the court with them as possible.”
She said she plans to continue her normal routines on the court as she begins preparing for the championships, with one change: She wants to take care of her body. More specifically, in an effort to prepare for the intense play she will face.
Win or lose, Paskauskas said she is excited for the chance to play at the championships and gain the experience that could help propel her even further next fall season.
“It’s exciting,” Paskauskas said. “It’s my first time playing the individual tournament, and I’m surrounded by some of the best college players.”
