"It is exciting to have two players in this tournament, and I am interested to see how we stack up," Aggie first-year coach Howard Joffe said. "The competition in this field is as strong if not stronger than the NCAA tournament. It is all of the returning All-Americans and a lot of others who are awfully good. We have been working very hard, and it will be interesting to see where we stand against the best teams."
Urbina, a junior from Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, is the No. 1 seed in the 64-player qualifying draw. Listed No. 20 in the preseason singles rankings, Urbina will face 75th-ranked Caroline Rohde-Moe of Ole Miss in the first round. Urbina opened her fall campaign last month, going 3-1 and reaching the finals in the White Bracket at the Duke Fab Four Invite before falling to 25th ranked Anna Bartenstein of Miami.
This is the second year Urbina has been selected to compete in the All-American Championships. Last year she won all three matches in the qualifying round to advance to the 32-player main draw, where she fell to seventh-ranked Denise Dy of Washington in the opening round. Urbina advanced to the second round of the doubles main draw with then-senior Morgan Frank.
Spain native Sanchez-Quintanar, a junior transfer from Maryland who is playing in the event for the first time, makes her A&M debut ranked No. 24 in singles and will face 29th-ranked and No. 7 seed Natalie Pluskota of Tennessee. Sanchez-Quintanar was unable to play in last month's tournament at Duke because of a broken finger.
"Cristina is nervous but excited," Joffe said. "She broke a finger on her playing hand late in the summer that limited her preparation, but she is a very good player and I expect her to do fine. This tournament is in many ways like the first night of a Broadway production, where many people are more nervous than usual and are just anxious to get started."
Urbina and Sanchez-Quintanar are No. 34 in doubles and will open the qualifying doubles draw against the 35th-ranked duo of Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein of Nebraska also on Tuesday.
"We have two very good players who have not played together, so no result will shock me," Joffe said. "They are inexperienced as far as playing together, but we have put in as much work as we could and they are both very good and are excited to compete."
Eight players from the singles draw and four doubles teams from the doubles draw will earn the right to compete in the main draws of the event. Main draw play will take place over four days, beginning on Oct. 6.
The tournament's singles quarterfinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions will receive automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships Nov. 3-6 in Flushing, N.Y.
For complete coverage of the 2011 ITA/Riviera Women's All-American Championships, please visit ITAtennis.com. Updates and photos will also be provided on the ITA's Facebook and Twitter pages.Â