Oct. 21, 2005

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The University of Illinois women's tennis team kicked off the first round of main draw doubles at the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional doubles No. 1 doubles team, as they advanced to the round of 16 on Friday. The Illini could not advance in singles qualifying on Thursday as four members of the Orange and Blue team struggled on the first day. The 64-player singles main draw begins on Saturday.

"Brianna and Macall cruised through the first two rounds of the doubles draw," head coach Sujay Lama said. "The kid have put in a lot of work and it's great to see the results pay off. I'm looking forward to coaching them tomorrow."

Brianna Kune and Macall Harkins beat Dora Delgadillo and Megan Brooks of Northern Illinois, 8-3 and then took down Dabrowski and Watkins of Western Michigan, 8-6 in the round of 32. In other doubles competition, Momei Qu and Emily Wang upset the No. 7-seeded Noriko Saruta and Rattia Hirirat of Western Michigan 8-6. However, their run ended in the round of 32, losing to Sugiyama/Yaftali of Michigan, 8-6. Coach Lama pulled Alejandra Meza Cuadra and Shivani Dave' from play on Friday.

"We played well today," said senior Brianna Knue. "The teams we played today were good challenges and they'll only make us better. We need to up our return percentage and we'll start playing really well. We are excited but we know we have to take it one match at a time."

On Thursday, Freshman Shivani Dave' defeated Messmer of Ohio State, 6-4, 6-4. She couldn't keep up the trend, falling to Saruta of Western Michigan, 7-6(5), 6-1. Alejandra Meza Cuadra, Emily Wang and Pavlina Akritas all lost in the first round of qualifying but picked up wins in the consolation matches.

Senior Brianna Knue and sophomores Macall Harkins and Momei Qu begin the singles main draw on Saturday and will each be vying for an opportunity at a berth in the ITA National Indoor Championships, Nov. 3-6. The doubles championship team and singles finalist of the Midwest Regional Championships earn spot in the second national tournament of the year.

Complete tournament results can be found at www.fighitngillini.com.

Friday's Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Results
Doubles Main Draw Round of 64
Knue/Harkins (ILL) def. Dora Delgadillo/Megan Brooks (NIU): 8-3
Qu/Wang (ILL) def. Noriko Saruta/Rattia Hirinrat (WMU); 8-6
Romer/Meister (BG) def. Cuadra/Dave (ILL): default
Doubles Main Draw Round of 32
Knue/Harkins (ILL) def. Dabrowski/Watkins (MAR); 8-4
Sugiyama/Yaftali (UM) def. Qu/Wang (ILL); 8-6
Thursday's Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Results
Qualifying Singles Round of 64
Shivani Dave' (ILL) def. Kristin Messmer (OSU); 6-4, 6-4
Krissy Dowlin (IOWA) def. Alejandra Meza Cuadra (ILL); 6-3, 6-3
Ana Milosavljevic (MSU) def. Emily Wang (ILL); 6-3, 6-4
Kerstin Pahl (WMU) def. Pavlina Akritas (ILL); 6-3, 6-0
Qualifying Round of 32
Noriko Saruta (WMU) def. Dave' (ILL); 7-6(5), 6-1
Qualifying Consolation Matches
Cuadra (ILL) def. Kerry Langworth (AKRON); 6-4, 6-1
Wang (ILL) def. Brittany Minna (PUR); 6-0, 6-2
Akritas (ILL) def. Dora Delgadillo (NIU)