Pair of Jayhawks to Take on Nation's Elite at ITA All-American Championships
Sept. 27, 2007
LAWRENCE, Kan. —
Senior Elizaveta Avdeeva and junior Edina Horvath will join a collection of the country’s top tennis players over the next week as they travel to Southern California for the ITA All-American Championships.
Avdeeva and Horvath were selected to the qualifying draw of the doubles bracket, and Avdeeva was also picked to compete in the pre-qualifying singles draw. Pre-qualifying will take place on Saturday and Sunday at UCLA, while qualifying is set to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 2, in Pacific Palisades.
Ranked 117th in the nation, Avdeeva will be part of a 64-player pre-qualifying bracket that will compete for eight spots in the qualifying draw. In order to advance to the 64-player qualifying round, participants must win three matches. Eight athletes will then move on to the main draw, which will have a field of 32 and is scheduled to begin on Oct. 4.
KU’s No. 1 singles player a year ago, Avdeeva finished the season with 15 wins, which tied her for third-most on the squad. The Obninsk, Russia, native will enter the 2008 spring season within range of several career milestones, as she needs only five Big 12 doubles wins to become Kansas’ all-time leader and seven league singles wins to enter the Jayhawks’ career top-five.
Avdeeva will also look to have success in doubles play at the event, where she will join Horvath in the qualifying draw. The tandem, which is ranked 36th in the preseason ITA poll, will be part of a 32-duo field that will compete for four spots in the 16-team main draw. To advance, pairs must win three matches.
One of Kansas’ top doubles teams in recent years, Avdeeva and Horvath look to add to their already-impressive resume at the event. The tandem opened this season by finishing second at the Cissie Leary Tournament and was selected to the All-Big 12 team last spring. The pair finished the 2006-07 season with a record of 23-9, which included six wins en route to winning the ITA Central Regionals last fall.
Selection into the ITA All-American Championships is highly competitive and based on national rankings and recommendations from the ITA National Tournament Committee. For more information on the event, visit www.itatennis.com.
Check back with www.kuathletics.com for results following each day of the tournament.
