April 29, 2008
PHILADELPHIA -
Temple will travel to Durham, N.C. to take on ninth-ranked Duke at the University's Ambler Tennis Stadium on Friday, May 9 at 10:00 a.m. in a first round match of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships. The Owls (16-4), making their first appearance in the NCAAs since 2003, play an experienced Blue Devils' (18-4) squad that is appearing in their 19th straight tournament.
"Playing a team the caliber of Duke is a great challenge for our program," states first-year head coach Jill Breslin. "We are excited to have won the Atlantic 10 Championship and qualify for the NCAAs, but now we want to prove that we belong."
At no earlier than 1:00 p.m., William & Mary (17-8) will square off against N.C. State (13-10). The winners of the first round matches will meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 10 with the winner of that contest advancing to the NCAA Championship finals, held May 15-26 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.
The Owls are one of the youngest teams in the field, sporting no seniors and just two juniors - Felicia Frazier (9-2, #6 singles) and Dina Senkina (13-5, #1-2 singles)- on their roster. Sophomore Elyse Steiner (10-4, #1-2 singles) teams with Senkina at doubles and the two have combined on 11 straight wins at the second slot.
Sophomore Anastasiia Rukavyshnykova has posted the most singles wins (17) while playing the fourth (6-4) and fifth (8-1) positions. Freshman Lucie Pazderova has 14 wins, including an 11-2 mark at third singles. Sophomore Christine Clermont (8-5) finished the season at fourth singles where she owns a 5-1 record.
Tickets for the first and second rounds are available for purchase at Duke University's Ambler Tennis Stadium on the day of the matches for $5, with seniors and student tickets on sale for $3.
