Oct. 26, 2008

Athens, Ga. -

ITA Southern Regionals Bracket

Alessa Waibel and Jenna Osborne posted an 8-6 victory over Meritt Emery and Alice Tunaru of Alabama to give the University of Miami women's tennis duo the "B" Doubles championship at this year's ITA Southern Regional Women's Tennis Championships in Athens, Ga.

Waibel and Osborne, playing together for the first time all season this past weekend, went 3-0 as partners at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia. For Osborne, she runs her doubles record for the year out to 5-1, including winning the last five matches in a row. Meanwhile, Waibel improves to 5-2.

In the "A" doubles bracket, the Hurricanes duo of Michaela Kissell and Bianca Eichkorn ended their strong run at this year's tournament, bowing out in the semifinals to the No. 46-ranked ITA team in the nation--Noelle Hickey and Christy Striplin of Georgia Tech. Kissell and Eichkorn ended their play with a hard-fought 9-8 decision in the defeat.

Kissell (No. 49) also ended her run in the "A" singles bracket after going 1-1 on the day. She began the day in the Round of 16 with a straight-set victory over Georgia State's Diana Nakic, 6-4, 6-0. She would later fall to No. 67 Marrit Boonstra (Florida), 6-0, 7-5 in the quarterfinals, advancing farther than any other UM player in the tourney bracket. Kissell's record for the year now stands at 7-4.

Eichkorn (No. 109) also ended her strong play this weekend with a tough 7-5, 6-4 defeat to No. 73 Karen Nijssen of Ole Miss. The loss for Eichkorn is her second in the last four matches, but both have been to top 75 ranked opponents. She now holds a 12-3 record for the fall season.

The Hurricane women's netters don't get back to action again until Thursday, Oct. 30 when they travel back to California for the Palm Desert Classic in Palm Desert, Calif. The event runs from Oct. 30-Nov.1 at the Moore Tennis Academy.

For more information, please log on to the www.itatennis.com, the official site for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.