CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Coming off her Southern Conference Freshman of the Year award earlier this spring, Isabella Sambola, a rising sophomore on the Catamount women's tennis team, continued her strong showing on the court this past weekend with a victory at the ITA Summer Circuit hosted by Western Carolina.
 
Sambola opened the event with a 6-3, 6-2 win in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning before another strong showing in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon with a 6-0, 6-3 victory to advance to the final on Sunday.
 
After splitting the first two sets in the finals, Sambola was able to claim the title with a 10-5 third set decision en route to claiming the title on Sunday in Cullowhee.
 
In her recently completed freshman campaign, Sambola became the first Catamount in program history to earn SoCon Freshman of the Year honors from the league as she also was joined by a pair of teammates on the SoCon All-Freshman Team.
 
The New Orleans, Louisiana, native tied for third on the team with nine singles wins playing as the No. 1 seed. She won all three of her singles matches against Seton Hall, UNCW, and Loyola during WCU's spring break trip in Orlando, Florida. Sambola also won nine doubles matches playing between both at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.