FERRIS WOMEN'S TENNIS DUO ADVANCES TO NATIONAL TOURNEY
Marissa Muchow & Leila Salek Claim ITA Great Lakes Doubles Title
The Ferris State University women's tennis doubles tandem of junior Marissa Muchow (Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon) and sophomore Leila Salek (Croydon Surrey, United Kingdom/Riddlesdown) advanced to the 2005 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Small College Championships with a victory in the final match of the ITA Great Lakes Region Championships Sunday (Sept. 18) at the Midland Community Tennis Center in Midland, Mich.
 | Ferris State's Leila Salek & Marissa Muchow, shown here with head coach Amy Sun, claimed the 2005 ITA Great Lakes Doubles Championship |
Muchow and Salek, who were seeded first overall in the draw, defeated Drury's (Mo.) sixth-seeded duo of Maria Amato and Alejandra Miranda-Sanchez by a score of 8-5 in Sunday's title encounter. The 2005 ITA National Small College Championships will be held Oct. 13-16 in Fort Myers, Fla.
The duo previously had posted an 8-5 triumph over Michigan Tech's Silvia Oliveros and Amy Palmgren, who were seeded seventh, in the semifinal round. Overall, they compiled a 4-0 mark at the regional tournament after earning a first-round bye.
The ITA regional event, which was hosted by Northwood University, included both singles and doubles competition. Participants from all schools in the Great Lakes Region were included in the field with the individual singles and doubles champions earning automatic berths into the national championship field.
The National Small College Tennis Championships, which will be held at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla., is an event presented by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and features the top players in the nation from NCAA Divisions II and II, NAIA and junior/community colleges battling it out to determine the top small college players in the country.
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 and has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship.
Ferris State, which is presently both 4-0 overall and in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) dual action this campaign under first-year head coach Jing "Amy" Sun, will visit rival Northwood Tuesday, Sept. 20, for a 2 p.m. (EDT) league match in Midland. FSU will then take part in the Bowling Green State (Ohio) Invitational this Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 24-25).
|
