MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Playing for the 2025 ITA New England Regional Doubles title on the campus of Middlebury College, the Wesleyan rookie doubles pair of Lara Afolayanka and Kendall Smith earned runners-up honors and earned a spot in the ITA Cup that is set for October 16 in Rome, Ga.

Afolayanka and Smith defeated their Colby opponents, 8-2, in the round of 64 and earned an 8-4 victory over Middlebury opponents in the round of 32.The duo reached the quarterfinals with an 8-4 win over their opponents from Bowdoin and won back-to-back matches against two different MIT doubles teams to advance to the finals. In the doubles championship match, Afolayanka and Smith fell to the Babson team of Matia Cristiani/Sandra Sikhrulidze, 6-2, 6-3.