Oct. 23, 2008

Coral Gables, Fla. - Head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews takes the University of Miami women's tennis team to Athens, Georgia this weekend as a number of Hurricanes will compete in this year's Wilson/ITA Southern Regional Women's Tennis Championships hosted by the University of Georgia on Oct. 24-27. The event takes place at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

The Hurricanes have a number of players entered in this year's field, including No. 49 Michaela Kissell. Kissell played well out west, advancing to the Round of 16 in the qualifying draw.

Also playing for the `Canes is Bianca Eichkorn (No. 109) who owns a record of 10-2 on the year, as she owned a 10-matchg winning streak before falling in the Round of 16 at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships.

Admission to this year's tournament is absolutely free, and it will showcase players from 21 different schools around the South. A total of 14 players in the ITA Top 125 singles rankings are scheduled to play in the event along with four doubles teams ranked in the ITA Top 50. There will be two flights, an "A" and a "B," which features a 64-player singles draw and a 32-team doubles bracket. A consolation draw will be taking place for singles action only.

The "A" flight singles and doubles winners, along with the singles finalist, will advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships in November held at the University of Virginia. The elite event, slated for Nov. 6-9, is the second collegiate grand slam event of the season. Winners and finalists from the various ITA Regional Championships around the country plus at-large selections will make up the singles field of 32 and the 16-team doubles draw.

The doubles team of Eichkorn and Kissell, will also be a part of this weekend's action.

The 2008 ITA Southern Regional field features the following schools: Alabama, Alabama-Birmingham, Auburn, Central Florida, Florida, Florida A&M, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi, Mississippi State, Samford, South Florida, Stetson and Troy.

The other seven Division I Women's ITA Regionals this year are at Wake Forest (Southeast), Michigan State (Midwest), Utah (Central), TCU (Southwest), Stanford (Northwest), San Diego/San Diego State (Western) and Pennsylvania (East). Over the years, Georgia has played host to this event numerous times including most recently in 2007.

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/Community College. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship. The official ITA website is www.itatennis.com.

The draws for the ITA Southern Regionals will be available Thursday evening and be posted on the Bulldog website at georgiadogs.com. Results will be updated daily on the UGA website as well.

2008 ITA Southern Regional Championships Schedule
Athens, Ga., Dan Magill Tennis Complex

Friday, Oct. 24
First two rounds of Singles (A and B)

Saturday, Oct. 25
First two rounds of Doubles (A and B)
First Round of Consolation Singles (A and B)
Round of 16 Singles Main (A and B)

Sunday, Oct. 26
Round of 16 Consolation Singles (A and B)
Quarterfinal Singles Main (A and B)
Quarterfinal Consolation Singles (A and B)
Semifinal Singles Main (A and B)
Quarterfinal Doubles (A and B)

Monday, Oct. 27
Semifinal Consolation Singles (A and B)
Final Singles Main (A and B)
Final Consolation Singles (A and B)
Semifinal Doubles (A and B)
Final Doubles (A and B)