St. Peter, Minn. -- Sarah Russell (So./The Woodlands, Texas/Rolling Meadows) teamed with newcomer Amanda Santa Romana (Fy./Racine, Wis./The Prairie School) to win the doubles title at the ITA Midwest Region Championships.

The pair defeated defeated the Gustavus tandem of Jamie Gaard and Mikaela Schmidt 8-1 in the semifinals. Russell and Santa Romana defeated another Gustie duo , third-seeded Lauren Hom and Kara Smiley, 8-4, to capture the title.

"Sarah and Amanda played excellent doubles on Sunday, even though this is their first tournament playing together," Carleton head coach Sarah Hurst said. "Sarah's penetrating groundstrokes and Amanda's great hands at the net were dominating." Hurst pointed out that this is Carleton's first All-American performance since Marcia Hunt and Leslie Gale earned that status in 1991.

Diane Danforth (Jr./Pittsburgh/Upper St. Claire) and Genevieve Philp (Jr./Norman, Okla./North) were seeded second in the doubles draw but were upset in the second round by the duo of Linsey Miller and Amy Willhite of St. Catherine, 8-4.

In the singles draw, Russell and Santa Romana both advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Gustavus players. Russell, the top seed in the draw, fell to Marla Menne 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2). Santa Romana lost to the second-seeded Hom 6-1, 6-1. Danforth won twice in the singles draw and Philp and Kendra Ackland (Fy./St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy & Summit School) both won first-round matches before falling in round two.

"I was very pleased with the performance of the entire team this weekend," Hurst said. "This tournament not only showcased the talent of our top players like Sarah and Amanda, but also the depth of the program. All six of our singles players won their first round matches, except for one, and she went on the the finals of the consolation, eventually falling to a seeded player."

Russell and Santa Romana now advance to the ITA National Small College Championships next month. They are one of only eight doubles teams nationwide that advance to the national tournament, based on results from each of the regional tournaments held this weekend and next weekend at sites throughout the nation.

ITA Doubles Draw

First Round
(6) Sarah Russell/A. Santa Romana (Carleton) def. Tara Huniker/Kirsten Madsen (Luther), score N/A
(2) Diane Danforth/Genevieve Philp (Carleton) def. Louie Doubinski/Julie Tellifson (UW-LaCrosse) 8-2

Second Round
(6) Sarah Russell/A. Santa Romana (Carleton) def. Amber Erickson/Steph Sparby (St. Scholastica) 8-6
Linsey Miller/Amy Willhite (St. Catherine) def. (2) Diane Danforth/Genevieve Philp (Carleton) 8-4

Quarterfinals
(6) Sarah Russell/A. Santa Romana (Carleton) def. Alex Hackson/Natalie Widamann (Carthage) 8-4

Semifinals
(6) Sarah Russell/A. Santa Romana (Carleton) def. Jaime Gaard/Mikaela Schmitt (Gustavus) 8-1

Finals
(6) Sarah Russell/A. Santa Romana (Carleton) def. (3) Lauren Hom/Kara Smiley (Gustavus) 8-4

ITA Singles Draw (Carleton results)

First Round
(1) Sarah Russell (Carleton) def. Jacie Haroldson (Luther) 6-2, 6-1
Diane Danforth (Carleton) def. Kristin Chamberlain (UW-Whitewater) 6-4, 6-1
(9) Sara Cahoun (Carthage) def. Abby Beggs (Carleton) 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3
(9) Genevieve Philp (Carleton) def. Alex Jackson (Carthage) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Amanda Santa Romana (Carleton) def. (7) Miriam Blom-Skrade (Luther) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Kendra Ackland (Carleton) def. Maggie Seitz (UW-Whitewater) 6-0, 6-0

Second Round
(1) Russell (Carleton) def. Jackola (St. Scholastica) 6-2, 6-3
Danforth (Carleton) def. Nadeina (Nebraska Wesleyan) 6-4, 7-6 (8)
Rolfsrud (St. Catherine) def. (9) Philp (Carleton) 6-2, 7-5
Santa Romana (Carleton) def. Schmelzer (UW-LaCrosse) 6-0, 6-3
(2) Hom (Gustavus) def. Ackland (Carleton) 6-0, 6-1

Third Round
(1) Russell (Carleton) def. (9) Stafford (UW-Eau Claire) 7-5, 6-2
Menne (Gustavus) def. Danforth (Carleton) 6-1, 6-4
Santa Romana (Carleton) def. (9) Schutte (Cornell) 6-3, 6-2

Quarterfinals
Menne (Gustavus) defeats (1)Russell (Carleton) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
(2) Hom (Gustavus) def. Santa Romana (Carleton) 6-1, 6-1

For full scores from the tournament, please visit the Gustavus Website.