April 22, 2004

WILLIAMSBURG, VA -- The Old Dominion women's tennis team begins its quest for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title on Friday morning when the third seeded Lady Monarchs take on the sixth seeded Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens in the tournament's quarterfinals.

The past two CAA women's tennis championships have been decided by narrow 4-3 decisions, and more of the same is expected this year as the 2004 event gets underway on Thursday morning in Williamsburg. The four-day tournament features a pair of nationally ranked squads and six nationally ranked players.

Host William & Mary is the tournament's top seed after going 16-12 overall and 3-0 in the CAA season. The 36th-ranked Tribe has won their last five matches, including wins over #23 Notre Dame and nationally ranked CAA foes VCU (5-2) and Old Dominion (4-3). W&M has captured 16 of the 19 CAA women's tennis championships. The Tribe is led by 24th-ranked Megan Muth and juniors Lena Sherbakov and Amy Wei.

Defending champion Virginia Commonwealth is the tournament's second seed. The Rams (15-7 overall) are ranked 51st this week and have wins over five ranked teams. VCU claimed its first CAA title last year with a 4-3 win over the Tribe. The Rams are led by 53rd-ranked Olga Borisova, 71st-ranked Silvia Urickova and sophomore Cristina Arribas.

Old Dominion is the tournament's third seed. The Lady Monarchs (7-10 overall) have been nationally ranked for much of the season and lost close 4-3 decisions to both W&M and VCU. ODU, which last won the CAA title in 2001, is led by 31st-ranked senior Nataly Cahana, who is a three-time CAA Player of the Year, and sophomore Kerstin Endlich.

Fourth-seeded UNC Wilmington has had the most successful season in the program's history winning a school-record 14 matches and going 4-0 in the CAA. The Seahawks are led by sophomore Lindsey Hess, who was 15-6 at number one singles.

The championship gets underway Thursday morning on William & Mary's Busch Courts, as seventh-seeded George Mason faces 10th-seeded Drexel at 10 a.m. Eighth-seeded Towson will square off against ninth-seeded Hofstra at 12:30 p.m., before the tournament resumes on Friday with quarterfinal action at 9 a.m.

CAA Women's Tennis Championship Schedule
First Round * Thursday, April 22 * Busch
10:00 AM #7 George Mason vs. #10 Drexel
12:30 PM #8 Towson vs. #9 Hofstra

Quarterfinal * Friday, April 23 * Busch
9:00 AM #3 Old Dominion vs. #6 Delaware 11:30 AM #2 VCU vs. George Mason/Drexel
2:00 PM #1 William and Mary vs. Towson/Hofstra
4:30 PM #4 UNC Wilmington vs. #5 James Madison

Semifinal * Saturday, April 24 * Busch
2:00 PM ODU/Delaware vs. VCU/GMU/Drexel
4:30 PM W&M/Towson/Hofstra vs. UNCW/JMU

Final * Sunday, April 25 * Busch
1:00 PM Women's Championship Match