Nov. 1, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s tennis team will send six members to compete in the 2006 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships Thursday at the Racquet Club of Columbus in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State is the host school for this year’s championships, which are the second of three played during the 2006-2007 collegiate tennis season.
In singles, the freshman duo of Colleen Rielley (Overland Park, KS/Bishop Miege) and Cosmina Ciobanu (Brea, CA/Troy) each earned a spot in the tournament by reaching the singles final of the ITA Midwest Regional Championship two weeks ago. Rielley knocked off Ciobanu in the final in what is believed to be the first match between rookie teammates in ITA Regional Finals history.
Rielley is not seeded and will face Carole Salge of Clemson in the first round, while Ciobanu, also unseeded, will play third-seeded Kristi Miller of Georgia Tech.
Senior Christian and Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Bishop Gorman), as well as junior Brook Buck (Yukon, OK/Oklahoma Christian School) and sophomore Kelcy Tefft (Enid, OK/Chisholm) will represent the Irish in doubles. The Thompson twins qualified for the event with their finals appearance in the Riviera/ITA All-American Championship. Buck and Tefft gained a berth after winning the ITA Midwest Regional Championships.
The top-seeded Thompsons open the tournament with Ana Cetnik and Anna Sydorska of TCU. Buck and Tefft face Kristi Miller and Alison Silverio of Georgia Tech.
Suzi Babos of California is the No. 1 seed in singles.
These championships feature a 32-player singles field and 16-team doubles field for men and women, including: champions from Wilson/ITA Regional Championships held across the country during October, the ITA National Small College champions, the winners of the Polo Ralph Lauren Men’s All-American Tennis Championships and Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships presented by Fila and at-large and wild card selections made earlier this week by the ITA National Tournament Committee. Overall, more than 10,000 players from nearly 600 schools participate annually in the ITA Regional and National Intercollegiate Championships.
The championships will take place at the Racquet Club of Columbus, one of the best indoor facilities in the region that feature 10 Novacrylic tennis courts in three separate bays with spacious viewing lounges. The club hosts several junior and adult tournaments throughout the year.
Next weekend’s semifinal and championship matches will be broadcast live by Ken Thomas at www.RadioTennis.com.
The ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships were inaugurated in 1978 for the men and 1984 for the women and recent champions and finalists include current and recent top 100 professionals Benjamin Becker (Baylor), James Blake (Harvard), Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford), Laura Granville (Stanford), Marissa Irvin (Stanford), Kevin Kim (UCLA), Jeff Morrison (Florida) and Lisa Raymond (Florida). Big Ten legends and Grand Slam finalists Todd Martin (Northwestern) and MaliVai Washington (Michigan) are also among the past champions.
Results for action this weekend will be posted at www.und.com.
Women’s Singles Defending Champion
Diana Srebrovic, Florida
Riviera/ITA All-American Quarterfinalists
Suzi Babos, California
Melanie Gloria, Fresno State
Shadisha Robinson, South Florida
Audra Cohen, Miami
Megan Moulton-Levy, William & Mary
Caitlin Burke, Wisconsin
Megan Falcon, LSU (conso champ)
ITA Small College Champion
Jelena Pandzic, Fresno Pacific
Wilson/ITA Regional Finalists
Blakeley Griffith, Tennessee
Anastasia Zhukova, UT-Chattanooga
Kristi Miller, Georgia Tech
Kristen Flower, Georgia Tech
Cosmina Ciobanu, Notre Dame
Colleen Rielley, Notre Dame
Imke Reimers, Nebraska
Annette Aksdal, Denver
Anna Lubinsky, Texas A&M
Elzie Potgeiter, Texas A&M
Nina Henkel, California
Jessica Nguyen, Stanford
Sarah Fansler, USC
Yasmin Schnack, UCLA
At-Large Selections
Theresa Logar, Stanford
Zsuzsanna Fodor, California
Zuzana Cerna, Baylor
Celia Durkin, Stanford
Natalie Frazier, Georgia
Riza Zalameda, UCLA
Carol Salge, Clemson
ITA Wild Card
Jenna Long, North Carolina
Ohio State Host Wild Card
Julie Blackmore
Women’s Doubles Rivera/ITA All-American Semifinalists
Catrina Thompson/Christian Thompson, Notre Dame
Daniela Bercek/Elizabeth Plotkin, Duke
Megan Moulton-Levy/Katarina Zorcic, William & Mary (also regional)
ITA National Small College Champions
Kamila Dadakhodjeava/Tereza Veverkova, Auburn-Montgomery
Wilson/ITA Regional Champions
Kim Coventry/Joelle Schwenk, Kentucky
Whitney Benik/Nina Suvak, Florida
Jenny Miccoli/ Anastasia Surkova, BYU
Brook Buck/Kelcy Tefft, Notre Dame
Ana Cetnik/Anna Sydorska, TCU
Suzi Babos/ Zsuzsanna Fodor, California
At-Large Selections
Sara Anundsen/Jenna Long, North Carolina
ALexis Prousis/Georgia Rose, Northwestern
Kristi Miller/Alison Silverio, Georgia Tech
Celia Durkin/Jessica Nguyen, Stanford
Lauren Macfarlane/Nicola Slater, Florida State
— ND —