Oct. 17, 2006
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ­ -
The Illinois women's tennis team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to take on the best from the region at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships, hosted by Michigan State University on Oct. 19-24 at the MSU Indoor Facility. Six Illini will be making the trip, as junior Alejandra Meza Cuadra, sophomore Shivani Davé and freshmen Leigh Finnegan, Megan Fudge and Kristina Minor will open play in the qualifying draw of the event on Thursday, Oct. 19. Junior Momei Qu, with her Round of 16 performance last season, received an automatic bid into the main draw that begins on Oct. 21.
"I am really looking forward to see how our team stacks up against the rest of the teams in the Region," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "I and the team are anxious to get on the court and prove that our hard work has paid off. We have been working on a lot in practice, and now it is time to see if we can put that into play during a match."
The Midwest Regional is a qualifying tournament for National Indoor Championships held on Nov. 2 in Columbus, Ohio. The Fighting Illini will open doubles action with the tandems of Finnegan/Fudge, Qu/Minor and Davé /Meza Cuadra starting play on Friday, Oct. 20.
For complete tournament results, visit www.fightingillini.com at the conclusion of each day's competition.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The ITA Midwest Regional Championship brings together the best talent that the region has to offer. One of the top regions in the country, the Illini will face competitors from an array of national contenders, including Indiana, Michigan State, Big Ten defending champion Northwestern, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Action starts on Thursday, Oct. 19, with the first round of qualifying singles. Doubles action begins on Friday, Oct. 20, while the main draw of singles will kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 21.
WEEKEND PREVIEW
This will be the first trip to the ITA Midwest Regional Championships for freshmen Leigh Finnegan, Megan Fudge and Kristina Minor. Junior Alejandra Meza Cuadra will be playing in the qualifying draw for the second straight year, falling in the qualifying consolation match in 2006. On the young season, Meza Cuadra is taking a 1-3 record into the regional.
Junior Momei Qu fought her way into the Round of 16 last year at the ITA event, and will be defending an early-season 2-2 record in East Lansing this weekend. Sophomore Shivani Davé looks to earn a spot into the main draw of the championships after falling in the Round of 32 in the qualifying draw a year ago. Davé, tied with Fudge for the best record on the team, boasts a 3-1 ledger heading into the Midwest Regional. Finnegan and Minor both will take a 2-2 record into this weekend's action.
In doubles action, Finnegan/Fudge look to build on a 3-1 start to the season, while the tandems of Davé/Meza Cuadra and Qu/Minor will take the court with mirroring 2-2 ledgers in doubles contests.
2007 ITA MIDWEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT BRACKETS
The 2006-07 ITA Midwest Regional qualifying and main draw brackets will be released by the end of the day Wednesday for qualifiers, while the main draw will await the winners of the qualifying draw and be released by the end of the day Friday. Doubles main draw also will be released by the end of the day Wednesday.
LAST YEAR AT THE REGIONAL
At this time a year ago, the Illini women's tennis team was wrapping up a solid weekend at the ITA Midwest Championships, also held on the campus of Michigan State. The Illini received spirited efforts from their top netters, however, it wasn't enough as Momei Qu was ousted in the Round of 16 in the singles main draw, while and Brianna Knue and Macall Harkins lost in the quarterfinals of the doubles main draw.
Qu lost in the round of 16 to the Caitlyn Burke of Wisconsin in three sets 6-1, 5-7, 6-4. Qu battled toe-to-toe with the No. 3-seed, saving two match points in the second set. In the end, it wasn't enough to break her opponent. Harkins and Knue lost in the quarterfinals to the tournaments No. 4-seed Brook Buck and Keley Teft of Notre Dame, 9-8(2).
