Sophomore Alesia Mikalayeva, a member of the Illinois State women's tennis team, has been selected for the 2000 T. Rowe Price National Intercollegiate Clay Court Tournament.
Only 32 players are automatically selected while 64 are selected to participate in the qualifying round and 32 play in a pre-qualifying bracket. Mikalayeva, the 2000 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, begins play in the qualifying draw on Tuesday morning in Baltimore.
Mikalayeva, a native of Minsk, Belarus, is the third Redbird to participate in the tournament in the last six years. The other two, Stacy Sparlin and Janelle Crabtree, were both seniors and both earned national rankings in their final season at ISU.
"We've never had a sophomore selected so this signifies a bright future for Alesia," had coach Chris Hoover said. "It's a nice honor for Alesia knowing that people respect her talents."
Assistant coach Chris Klepper, who has helped MIkalayeva prepare for her transition to the clay courts, is confident she will make the transition smoothly.
"Alesia grew up on the clay and feels comfortable on it," Klepper said. "There's a change from hard courts to clay courts and it's an entirely different game. She has no worries about the transition and I don't think she'll have a problem."
The T. Rowe Price National Intercollegiate Clay Court Championships are an integral part of the ITA National Tournament Calendar, as well as the first leg of the ITA Collegiate Grand Slam.
