TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Northwest Missouri State University senior women's tennis player Polina Gontaryk came up on the short end of a decision in the opening round of the 2026 ITA Division II Singles & Doubles Championships.

The No. 8-seeded Gontaryk matched up against North Georgia's Olesya Stokusova in the first round. Rain in the area forced the match indoors to the University of Alabama's indoor tennis facility. Stokusova won the first set, 6-4. Gontaryk battled back and held a 5-3 lead in the second set, before Stokusova rattled off four straight games to take the match in straight sets, 7-5.

Gontaryk will square off against Chestnut Hill's Fabienne Lahn in her next matchup set for Thursday. Lahn lost her first-round match to Central Oklahoma's Mei Hasegawa, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.