Oct. 9, 2003
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- Action gets underway today at the Riviera/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American Championships, being held at the Riviera Tennis Club.
Northwestern's Cristelle Grier (Surrey, England/Putney) is seeded third among the 32 players in the singles tournament. Grier and Jessica Rush (Dallas, Texas/Hockaday School) are competing in the 16-team doubles tournament.
The Riviera/ITA event, the Nov. 6-9 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, and the year-end NCAA Championships are college tennis' three national championship events during the season. The premier hard court event of the fall collegiate season, the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships feature the top players in NCAA Division I tennis.
Rush nearly qualified for the main draw in a preliminary tournament, but lost her final match on Wednesday to Texas A&M's Jessica Roland 7-6 (3), 6-0. Rush had defeated New Mexico's Maja Kovacek 6-2, 7-5 and USC's Carine Vermuelen 7-5, 6-1 for the right to play for a qualifying berth.
Grier, the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2003, faces Arizona's Maja Mlakar in her first-round match. In doubles, Grier and Rush take on Missouri's Urska Juric and Katka Sevekova on Thursday.
The famous Riviera Tennis Club has played host to this event since 1988. For up-to-date results, visit the ITA web site at Riviera/ITA All-American Championships.
The remainder of the women's tennis team is hosting the Wildcat Invitational this Friday through Sunday, Oct. 10-12. Competing schools include Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Iowa State, DePaul, Illinois-Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Louisville and Northwestern.
Play begins at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, and at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.