May 21, 2002

Illinois' Jennifer McGaffigan, which played No. 1 singles all year long, took another step in her tennis career this year by earning a berth in the NCAA Singles Championship Tournament, which is being contested at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

It was an inauspicious start for the Davenport, Iowa, native (ranked No. 61), who lost her first-round match, 6-3, 6-4, to No. 38 Andrea Ondrisova of Virginia Commonwealth, today, but both McGaffigan and UI Head Coach Sujay Lama are very much upbeat about the experience.

"Jenny had a very tough draw," said Lama. "Her opponent was a 24-year-old senior, a very experienced player with only one loss the entire season, yet Jenny played her even closer than the score might indicate. She was a little nervous, a little tentative at first, but she settled down and played very well later. She had her chances, and she missed some easy overheads, but all in all I think this was a positive experience for her. "It was great for her to be in this environment."

"I was a great experience," said McGaffigan. "Playing in this tournament and seeing all of the great players here is really a good motivation for me to work hard on my game this summer. I need to work on my forehand and make it more of a weapon, and I need to come to the net more often and be more aggressive."

"I'm excited about next year," said Lama. "Jenny will be back and will be a better player for this experience."

McGaffigan ends the season with a record of 24-16.