Friday, September 19
USAFA, Colo.
Sunday. - 9:45 AM MT
Air Force Academy
vs
ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains
Cotuna Earns Singles Title in Successful Women’s Tennis Bedford Cup
9/21/2025 4:43:00 PM | Women's Tennis
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Senior Abby Cotuna headlined Air Force Women's Tennis' final day -and a successful weekend overall - at the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains, sweeping competitors in her first three days of collegiate tennis in over two calendar years and heading home with a trophy in hand.
Cotuna, who played for the Falcons as a freshman in 2022-23, went 16-8 as a singles competitor that year while being named a three-time Mountain West Freshman of the Week along the way. Despite the hiatus, the now-senior appears to have maintained her edge and then some after a 4-0 debut at this year's Bedford Cup occurred on the heels of a 14-day tryout to make her return to the Falcons. Taking on Iowa transfer Jessica Matthews (Idaho) and adverse weather conditions late in the second set of their match, Cotuna powered past Matthews in an indoor third set to secure her trophy and an undefeated debut.
Air Force players participated in three of four bracket titles handed out on Sunday. Cotuna, along with freshmen Yule Kang and Jariahlyn Rhoades, each earned title bids. Both Kang and Rhoades fell against Idaho's Naomi Schraeder (7-5, 6-4) and New Mexico's Vianca Corley (6-2, 6-3), but both managed a second-place finish in the Bravo and Delta flights, respectively, going 3-1 on the weekend. Kang sits at 6-1 through her first seven fall matches while Rhoades' performance lifted her to 4-3.
Senior Arianna Van Houweling improved to 7-1 in open singles this fall. Despite dropping her opening round match in the Alpha draw on Friday, Van Houweling closed her weekend on a four-match win streak to finish with an Alpha draw third place finish after back-to-back wins over Denver's Louise Wikander (0-6, 6-3, 10-4) and Hana Becirovic Novak (6-3, 6-4).
Sophomore Sofia Mavor went 2-2 on the weekend in singles play, falling in the opening round of Bravo singles, then earning consecutive wins over CSU's Diana Lizarazo (6-2, 6-3) and Texas Tech's Elena Daskalova (6-3, 7-6(3)) before falling 14-12 in a third-set super tiebreak against Red Raider Xenia Logvin on Sunday. Mavor currently sits at 4-3 in fall singles play.
Sophomore Shivaani Selvan, after dropping her first two singles contests, closed the weekend on consecutive victories, defeating Idaho's Chenyue Xu (6-2, 2-6, 10-3) and fellow Vandal Mariam Hatem (2-6, 7-5, 10-7), closing out her first two weekends of tennis at 5-2 overall.
In doubles, Van Houweling and junior Nadia Kojonroj went 3-1, advancing into the Blue semifinals before being eliminated on Saturday. The pair picked up an extra match on Sunday, defeating Idaho State's Millie Day/Veronika Zarovna, 6-4.
Kang/Rhoades finished at 2-1 on the weekend in doubles, improving both to 4-1 and 3-2, respectively, Selvan/Mavor went 2-2, improving both to 3-3 in open doubles after two weekends of competition.
Taylor Hollander's first impressions at the conclusion of day three:
"Comparing this Bedford Cup to my first season here, it's like a totally different team with totally different expectations. I am very proud of the way everyone competed. We were a little too hard on ourselves and a little emotional on the first day, but I think we made the proper adjustments and pushed through that, just remembering to compete and have fun into days two and three. Day three, there's obviously going to be some nerves going into the finals. It's quite impressive that Abby made it through a 14-day tryout and made it back on the team just in time to come in and win her flight.
"I'm also very proud of our two freshmen who made it into the championships in their flight. They had some tough opponents and I think they learned a lot from this tournament."
Hollander's perspective on Air Force's first two weeks of fall tennis:
"I'm feeling good about our start but it's still important to hold up those expectations and support a winning culture. Making sure we are supporting one another and that we are behaving the right way regardless of what is going on around us is very important. I'm very proud of them so far. I want to keep seeing them working hard and to remember that now we're playing big picture tennis. "
On Cotuna's rapid return and dominant start:
"I definitely see her playing in the top this year. I see her challenging a lot of these teams and the competitors we expect to face this season. I see her adjusting and adapting well into the culture of what we have now as a team. She has checked all of the boxes and I am extremely proud of her."
Up Next:
Air Force Women's Tennis takes on the Mountain West Fall Qualifier, set for Oct. 1-4 in Las Vegas.
Cotuna, who played for the Falcons as a freshman in 2022-23, went 16-8 as a singles competitor that year while being named a three-time Mountain West Freshman of the Week along the way. Despite the hiatus, the now-senior appears to have maintained her edge and then some after a 4-0 debut at this year's Bedford Cup occurred on the heels of a 14-day tryout to make her return to the Falcons. Taking on Iowa transfer Jessica Matthews (Idaho) and adverse weather conditions late in the second set of their match, Cotuna powered past Matthews in an indoor third set to secure her trophy and an undefeated debut.
Air Force players participated in three of four bracket titles handed out on Sunday. Cotuna, along with freshmen Yule Kang and Jariahlyn Rhoades, each earned title bids. Both Kang and Rhoades fell against Idaho's Naomi Schraeder (7-5, 6-4) and New Mexico's Vianca Corley (6-2, 6-3), but both managed a second-place finish in the Bravo and Delta flights, respectively, going 3-1 on the weekend. Kang sits at 6-1 through her first seven fall matches while Rhoades' performance lifted her to 4-3.
Senior Arianna Van Houweling improved to 7-1 in open singles this fall. Despite dropping her opening round match in the Alpha draw on Friday, Van Houweling closed her weekend on a four-match win streak to finish with an Alpha draw third place finish after back-to-back wins over Denver's Louise Wikander (0-6, 6-3, 10-4) and Hana Becirovic Novak (6-3, 6-4).
Sophomore Sofia Mavor went 2-2 on the weekend in singles play, falling in the opening round of Bravo singles, then earning consecutive wins over CSU's Diana Lizarazo (6-2, 6-3) and Texas Tech's Elena Daskalova (6-3, 7-6(3)) before falling 14-12 in a third-set super tiebreak against Red Raider Xenia Logvin on Sunday. Mavor currently sits at 4-3 in fall singles play.
Sophomore Shivaani Selvan, after dropping her first two singles contests, closed the weekend on consecutive victories, defeating Idaho's Chenyue Xu (6-2, 2-6, 10-3) and fellow Vandal Mariam Hatem (2-6, 7-5, 10-7), closing out her first two weekends of tennis at 5-2 overall.
In doubles, Van Houweling and junior Nadia Kojonroj went 3-1, advancing into the Blue semifinals before being eliminated on Saturday. The pair picked up an extra match on Sunday, defeating Idaho State's Millie Day/Veronika Zarovna, 6-4.
Kang/Rhoades finished at 2-1 on the weekend in doubles, improving both to 4-1 and 3-2, respectively, Selvan/Mavor went 2-2, improving both to 3-3 in open doubles after two weekends of competition.
Taylor Hollander's first impressions at the conclusion of day three:
"Comparing this Bedford Cup to my first season here, it's like a totally different team with totally different expectations. I am very proud of the way everyone competed. We were a little too hard on ourselves and a little emotional on the first day, but I think we made the proper adjustments and pushed through that, just remembering to compete and have fun into days two and three. Day three, there's obviously going to be some nerves going into the finals. It's quite impressive that Abby made it through a 14-day tryout and made it back on the team just in time to come in and win her flight.
"I'm also very proud of our two freshmen who made it into the championships in their flight. They had some tough opponents and I think they learned a lot from this tournament."
Hollander's perspective on Air Force's first two weeks of fall tennis:
"I'm feeling good about our start but it's still important to hold up those expectations and support a winning culture. Making sure we are supporting one another and that we are behaving the right way regardless of what is going on around us is very important. I'm very proud of them so far. I want to keep seeing them working hard and to remember that now we're playing big picture tennis. "
On Cotuna's rapid return and dominant start:
"I definitely see her playing in the top this year. I see her challenging a lot of these teams and the competitors we expect to face this season. I see her adjusting and adapting well into the culture of what we have now as a team. She has checked all of the boxes and I am extremely proud of her."
Up Next:
Air Force Women's Tennis takes on the Mountain West Fall Qualifier, set for Oct. 1-4 in Las Vegas.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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