Oct. 20, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University women's tennis team will play host to one of the biggest fall tournaments in the Southeast this weekend as the Bulldogs welcome 14 teams to the Samford Tennis Complex for the 2011 USTA-ITA Southern Regional Championships to be held Friday through Monday, Oct. 21-24.

The talent-laden field of the four-day competition will consist of top-notch players from schools located in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The schools competing in the 2011 USTA-ITA Southern Regional Championships will be Samford, Alabama, Auburn, Jacksonville State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe LSU, Mississippi State, Northwestern State, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Troy, Tulane and UAB.

Play will begin at 8:30 a.m. (CDT) on Friday and Saturday. Sunday's competition will start at 9 a.m., while Monday's championship matches will begin at a time that is yet to be determined.

Competing for Samford this weekend will be Madelie Janse Van Rensburg, Jessica Diamond, Kristin Lewis, Rebecca Kirven, Lindsey Mallory, AnnMarie Lyon, Kate Stanford and Lauren Levant.

In their most recent outing, the Bulldogs completed a solid weekend of play at the 24th Roberta Alison Fall Classic on Saturday as Samford concluded competition at the University of Alabama Tennis Complex in Tuscaloosa.

Samford's Kirven highlighted the Bulldogs' performances in singles play as she rallied to win the championship title of her bracket in the Flight 5 singles tournament.

The Bulldogs' senior from Windermere, Fla., dropped a hard-fought match against Troy's Olfa Dhaoui in the opening round, but then fought back to earn a straight-set triumph over Kentucky's second-seeded Misha Testerman, 6-3, 6-1. Kirven then outlasted Andrea Nedorostova of Northwestern State in Saturday's championship match, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9.

Samford's Lyon also advanced to the championship match of her singles flight Saturday. In the Flight 9 tournament bracket, the Bulldogs' native of Lexington, Ky., tallied consecutive victories against Amy Williams of Northwestern State and Menanteau Moolman of UAB before falling short in a 6-4, 6-2 contest versus Chattanooga's Emily Hangstefer in the championship match.

Also on Saturday, Samford's Janse Van Rensburg earned a 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Mississippi State's Ekaterina Iakovleva in the Flight 1 Singles tournament, while Lewis posted a 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 victory over Troy's Karoline Grymel. Lewis competed in the Flight 2 draw and finished the weekend with a 2-1 record.

In the Flight 7 Singles tournament, the Bulldogs' Emily Mallory also finished with a 2-1 record. Mallory opened the weekend with a 7-5, 6-2 win against Kentucky's CeCe Witten and then closed out Saturday's event with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory over Natalia Cardenas of West Alabama.

Diamond cruised to a straight-set triumph against Middle Tennessee's Lexi Brand, while Stanford notched a pair of singles victories in the Flight 10 Singles tournament.

Action in the 2011 USTA-ITA Southern Regional Championships will begin Friday at 8:30 a.m. (CDT) and will last throughout the day at the Samford Tennis Complex.

2011 USTA-ITA Tournament Draws