Oct. 2, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Four members of the Texas A&M women's tennis team have been selected to compete against the top players in the collegiate ranks at the prestigious Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships, Oct. 3-11 in Los Angeles and Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Senior Elzé Potgieter (Bloemfontein, South Africa), listed No. 80 in the ITA National Preseason Singles Rankings, has been selected to compete in the 64-player singles qualifier, which gets underway Oct. 6. Junior Morgan Frank (Oldsmar, Fla.), ranked No. 88 in the preseason singles rankings, will compete in the 64-player singles prequalifier starting Saturday, Oct. 3 and also will team with Potgieter in the 32-team prequalifying doubles tournament, which also begins on Saturday.
Junior Stephanie Davidson (Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas) and freshman Nazari Urbina (Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico) also will compete in the prequalifying doubles. In addition, Urbina is currently an alternate for the singles prequalifier and could receive a last-minute entry.
"This tournament is as strong as you will see in the NCAA Championships," A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said. "It is an extremely hard tournament to get into, and it is a great opportunity for our players."
Frank led the Aggies in wins last year with a 23-11 overall singles record, including a 17-7 record at No. 2 singles in dual matches only. Potgieter was second on the team with a 20-14 overall record in 2008-09, including a 13-9 dual mark all at the No. 1 line.
"This is the first tournament for Morgan and Elzé, and they are extremely excited to get out and play at this highly competitive event," Kleinecke said. "A lot on how we do totally depends on the draw. We have to be prepared to play the toughest opponents at any time."
Urbina is 4-1 in singles after reaching the semifinals in her collegiate debut at the Midland Invitational, Sept. 18-21. She will be competing with Davidson for the first time in doubles after going 4-1 and reaching the semifinals with sophomore Sheri Olivier in Midland.
In the All-American singles and doubles prequalifier, players must win three matches to advance to the qualifier. Once in the qualifier, players must win three matches to advance to the 32-player main singles draw or the 16-team main doubles draw.
This event is the first of three national championship events during the 2009-10 collegiate tennis season. The other two are the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, Nov. 5-8, in New Haven, Conn., and the NCAA Division I National Championships in Athens, Ga., in late May.