FERRIS WOMEN'S TENNIS DOUBLES TEAM HEADED TO NATIONALS

Marissa Muchow & Leila Salek To Take Part In National Small College Championships

Muchow and Salek advanced to the ITA National Small College Championships with a victory in the final match of the ITA Great Lakes Region Championships (Sept. 16-18) at the Midland Community Tennis Center in Midland, Mich. They will square off against Julia Ustyuzhanina and Tetyana Bula of Brigham Young-Hawaii in Thursday's (Oct. 13) fourth quarterfinal-round Division II doubles match beginning a 2:30 p.m. (EDT). All participants will play at least three matches win or lose in the tournament.

This is the second straight year the national championships will be played at FGCU. The event, which is presented by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and administered by the ITA, dates back to 1986 and determines national champions for NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College men's and women's singles and doubles during the first two-and-a-half days of play. Those champions then compete to become the overall national small college champs (for all divisions) Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 15-16) in the ITA "Super Bowl" of Small College Tennis.

Each small college division will feature eight singles players and eight doubles teams who earned spots into this national event by winning their respective Wilson/ITA Regional Championships held over the past three weeks throughout the country. All told, nearly 5,000 players compete in 59 regional tournaments to earn spots in the national event. The tournament is the only national championship event for individual singles and doubles play at the NCAA Division II along with NAIA levels, and the only tournament that combines all levels of Junior/Community Colleges (NJCAA Divisions I, II and III and the California schools).

Players from throughout the country will be competing. Among those in Fort Myers this week will be defending women's singles champion Larikah Russell of (NAIA) Southern Nazarene (Okla.) and two-time NCAA Division III singles champ Matt Seeberger.

The overall ITA "Super Bowl" of Small College Tennis champions on Oct. 16 will earn wild cards into the Nov. 3-6 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, hosted by the The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. This tournament is the second of three national championships for Division I tennis and offers the small college participants the opportunity to become champions for all divisions of collegiate tennis.

As the governing body of collegiate tennis the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, presented by the USTA, and the ITA Rankings for men's and women's tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship.

Ferris State is presently both 7-1 overall and in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action this campaign under first-year head coach Jing "Amy" Sun. The remaining FSU squad members will take part in the Chicago State Windy City Fall Invitational this Friday-Sunday, Oct. 14-16, in Chicago, Ill.

More information on the ITA National Small College Championships can be found at this link: www.itatennis.com