After conquering the Missouri Valley Conference last weekend, Illinois State Universitys No. 1 womens tennis doubles team of Liina Suurvarik and Alesia Mikalayeva is looking to make its mark at the 2002 Riviera/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Womens All-American Championships, and the duo is off to a good start.
Illinois States duo of Suurvarik and Mikalayeva defeated Arizona State Universitys team of Mhairi Brown and Cindy Sureephong (8-2) as the doubles qualifying rounds began.
Perhaps the duo is riding on the momentum of its victorious weekend at the Missouri Valley Conference Individuals Championships, at which Suurvarik/Mikalayeva captured not only the No. 1 doubles title for the second year in a row, but also both the No. 1 and No. 2 singles titles. Also fueling the fire is the No. 19 national pre-season ranking the pair was given by the ITA. Whatever the motivation, Suurvarik and Mikalayeva are on a roll, and head coach Chris Hoover is pushing them to take full advantage of it.
The girls dont get a lot of opportunities to compete in national events, so we have to make the most of this, said Hoover. Were happy just to be invited to a tournament at this level, but we want more. We want to leave our mark.
Illinois States duo will return to the Riviera Tennis Club Courts at noon on Wednesday, October 9. The main draw of the 2002 Riviera/ITA Womens All-American Championships is set to begin on Thursday, October 10, and will run through Sunday, October 13.
