Sept. 19, 2007

Official Web Site: Deacon Classic

Doubles Bracket in PDF Format
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Singles Bracket in PDF Format
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URBANA, Ill. - The Illinois women's tennis team is geared up for its opening tournament at the Deacon Classic, hosted by Wake Forest University in Wake Forest, Ill., Sept. 21-23. The Illini, who boast a young and talented roster, including three freshmen and three sophomores leading the pack, will use the weekend as a chance to participate in a lot of match play in preparation for the remainder of the fall and into the tough dual-match part of the season in the spring.

"As a team we are looking to get a lot of experience while playing a lot of matches," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "The girls are eager to get the season started and play someone other than each other. This is going to be a great chance for all of the freshmen to get needed match play, while giving the rest of the team a challenge of a lot of singles and doubles matches over the course of the weekend."

The Deacon Classic field includes Illinois' roster of senior Alejandra Meza Cuadra and Momei Qu, junior Shivani Davé, sophomores Megan Fudge and Kristina Minor, redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan and freshmen Candy Graetz, Marisa Lambropoulos and Annie McCarthy. The remaining squads include Charlotte, Dartmouth, Davidson, Georgia State, Indiana, Richmond and Wake Forest.

"We started official practices a week ago and have been working on conditioning and match preparation," Davé said about the preseason. "We are just ready to start playing matches. Right now, all of us are healthy and that is what is going to be important for us this fall heading into the spring."

The format of the tournament has eight flights for singles and two flights for doubles, with Illinois' lineup being disbursed between the different flights. Flight will be announced on or before the first day of competition on Friday.

"Our goals for the fall are to get a lot of experience and a lot of matches under our belt," Dasso said about the fall and the opening weekend of action. "We are no longer looking back at last season. This is a new year and we are a new team. We have a lot of goals set for this group and we are looking forward to achieving them and moving toward those goals from here."

For full results and recaps for the Deacon Classic, visit fightingillini.com following the conclusion of the tournament or visit the official tournament web site located at wakeforestsports.com on the front page of the women's tennis web site.