Georgia Gwinnett College sophomore Diana Ilie booked her place in the championship match of the 2025 Intercollegiate Tennis Association's South Regional with authority after posting a convincing victory against a Grizzly teammate in Friday afternoon's semifinal round.

DRAWS

Ilie was a tall and overpowering force in a 6-0, 6-2 victory against sophomore Cherysh Henry in an all-GGC semifinal encounter.

Henry struggled to bend her knees down to reach Ilie's consistent low-placed balls across the net. Trying to reciprocate the pace of each opposing shot, Henry's naturally defensive style became plagued with unforced errors and unfortunately her return shots were often landing too short to be effective.

Despite the loss, Henry had a promising run in the tournament, defeating a couple of seeded players, including a 7-6, 6-1 win earlier on Friday against No. 4-seeded Manuella Peguy Eloundou Nga of SCAD Atlanta. Henry won 13 of the last 15 games in that match, rebounding from a 5-0 deficit in the first set.

Ilie will now face top-seeded and defending regional champ Shalimar Talbi of SCAD Atlanta on Saturday, September 20, at 9 a.m.

Ilie brings growing confidence into the final after prevailing against Henry and Tennessee Wesleyan University's Olivia Alcala. She fought her way through some high-level, longer rallies for a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the quarterfinal round of the tournament.  

GGC also found success in the doubles draw, with Ilie partnering with sophomore MaryLove Edwards to advance to the semifinal round. They stormed to a 3-0 lead early in the match due to some brilliant returns from Edwards, whose nice ground strokes produced some tricky shots. They complimented Ilie's fine play, with some great returning volleys, to cruise to an 8-2 quarterfinal victory.
 
Coach's Corner
"Diana's work ethic is admirable. She has put 110 percent into her game, and all that hard work is now showing on the court. As a sophomore, she's better prepared and improving every day. She deserves to be in the final and I can't wait to see her perform on that stage," said Head Coach Hannah Keeling.
 
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College players will continue play in singles and doubles draws of the ITA South Regional on Saturday, September 20, at the GGC Tennis Facility, starting at 9 a.m.