Sept. 22, 1998

BALTIMORE – Notre Dame senior womens tennis player Marisa Velasco won her first-round match but dropped her second-round match in the qualifying draw of the T. Rowe Price National Clay Court Championships in Baltimore, Md, the opening leg of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Collegiate Grand Slam. Velasco, ranked 54th in the preseason rankings, beat Alabamas 89th-ranked Dominique Glinzer 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. Unranked Minnesota senior Alice Rangsithienchai eliminated Velasco 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in the second round on Tuesday.

Velasco was attempting to qualify for the 32-player main draw which beings on Thurs., Sept. 24. Irish senior All-American Jennifer Hall and sophomore Michelle Dasso are entered directly in the main draw based on their rankings. Dasso enters her first Clay Court Championship ranked 17th in the country while Hall, a quarterfinalist at the Clay Court Championships a year ago, is ranked 23rd.

Irish junior All-American mens tennis player Ryan Sachire begins play in the Clay Court Championships on Thursday as the eighth-ranked player in the country. He also will compete in the doubles competition with senior Brian Patterson. The pair is ranked 28th in the country.