THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9507020176
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Old Dominion will play host to the United States Tennis Association's Women's Event of Norfolk, which begins today at 9 a.m. and continues throughout the week with the singles final on Sunday, July 9th at 1 p.m. Admission is free.
The event, featuring world-ranked and collegiate All-Americans, is a $10,000 satellite tournament that has historically grouped the rising stars of professional women's tennis. Some former participants, including Lindsay Lee, a 1994 semifinalist, Anna Carlson and Nana Maiyagi, have gone on to compete at Wimbledon.
Headlining the tournament's main draw is Mashona Washington, the sister of U.S. Davis Cup player MaliVai Washington. Also expected are top 300 player Jane Taylor, 1995 NCAA singles and doubles finalist Kelly Pace, former William and Mary All-American Karen Van Der Merwe, wildcard Brie Rippner, a world-ranked junior, as well as four of the members of the University of Texas NCAA team champions and players from Australia, Brazil, Canada and South Africa.
``Whoever wins this tournament has to play some world-class tennis during the week,'' ODU tennis director Darryl Cummings said.
Expected in today's 64 player qualifying round are ODU's Michelle Tyson, a former nationally ranked junior player, and Jessica Zaganczyk, a nationally ranked junior from Virginia Beach. By Tuesday, the field of qualifiers will be cut to four players, who will have the chance to battle the featured contestants for the $1,600 top prize. by CNB