The Gustavus women’s tennis team is set to host and compete in the third annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Division III Women’s Indoor Championship at the Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter, Minnesota. Eight of the top 15 teams in Division III tennis will compete to determine the 2011 ITA Division III National Indoor Champion.
The field includes Emory University of Atlanta, Ga. (ranked #3 in ITA National Poll), the University of Chicago (#4), Denison University of Granville, Ohio (#5), host Gustavus Adolphus College (#7), Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh, Pa. (#8), Washington and Lee University of Lexington, Va. (#10), Chapman University of Atlanta, Ga. (#13), and DePauw University of Greencastle, Ind. (#15).
The tournament will begin on Friday morning with #3-seeded Denison facing #6 Washington and Lee, and #2 Chicago battling #7 Chapman at 11:30 a.m. In the afternoon, #1 Emory plays #8 DePauw and #4 Gustavus takes on #5 Carnegie Mellon. The afternoon matches are slated to begin at 5:00 pm. Saturday’s schedule has the losers of Friday’s matches playing in consolation matches beginning at 8:30 a.m., while the winners will play in semifinal matches beginning at 2:00 p.m. Consolation finals are slated to start at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. The third place and championship matches will begin at 9:00 am on Sunday morning.
Many of the top players in Division III will be taking part in the tournament including eight 2010 All-America singles players. Some of the top players include Courtney Chin and Laura Chen of Carnegie Mellon, Elizabeth Lewis of Chapman, Jennifer Kung and Kendra Higgins of Chicago, Janelle Arita of DePauw, and Lorne McManigle and Zahra Dawson of Emory.
In doubles play, eight 2010 All-America players from around the country will be present including Ashley Herrick and Laura Chen of Carnegie Mellon, Chrissy Hu and Kendra Higgins of Chicago, Kristin Cobb of Denison, Lorne McManigle and Zahra Dawson of Emory, and Sam Frank of Gustavus.