Oct. 20, 2011
» ITA Northwest Regional Championships Home PALO ALTO, Calif. - The season officially begins for the majority of the Husky women's tennis team this weekend, as UW travels to Stanford's Taube Tennis Center for the ITA Northwest Regional Championships. Singles play kicks off Friday morning, doubles starts Saturday, and the tourney runs all the way through to Tuesday. The large tournament is one of the highlights of the fall season, with contingents from Pac-12 rivals Stanford, California, Oregon, and Washington State included in the field. The singles bracket stretches to 128 players, though there will not be that many competitors, giving higher seeded players first round byes. Doubles uses a 64-line bracket, with byes for the top teams as well. Senior Denise Dy is the only Husky to have competed so far this fall, as she played at the ITA All-American Championships earlier this month. Dy, despite ranking fourth in the nation, is just the No. 3 seed in this tourney, indicating the tough opposition that regional rivals Stanford and Cal provide. Cal's Jana Juricova is the No. 1 seed, and No. 1-ranked player in the nation. Dy won the Northwest Regional title in 2009, beating Juricova in the final. Six Huskies will be competing for the first time this season at this tournament. The freshmen trio of Julija Lukac, Capucine Gregoire, and Natali Coronel will all be making their collegiate debuts. Senior Samantha Smith and sophomore Andjela Nemcevic will also be in action. Dy, who made the NCAA Doubles Quarterfinals last year with senior Venise Chan, will team up for the first time with Gregoire in doubles. They will be seeded fourth. Also teaming together are Lukac and Coronel, and Smith and Nemcevic. |
