Marshall University Athletics
National Team Indoor Championship Up Next for Tennis
1/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 30, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall University women's tennis team will travel to Athens, Ga. this weekend to compete in the 2009 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Team Indoor Championship, which will be hosted by the No. 6 University of Georgia. The 45th-ranked Thundering Herd will compete as the No. 2 seed.
Marshall (2-1) will first play the No. 3 seed and 57th-ranked Florida International University (1-1), Sunday, with first serve set for 9 a.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Depending upon Sunday's outcome, the Herd will either face the No. 4 seed and 53rd-ranked Ole Miss (0-0) or No. 1 seed or No. 6 Georgia (2-0), Monday, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex with times yet to be determined.
"Florida International is a good team and we are glad for the opportunity to play them at a neutral site," Marshall's Head Coach John Mercer said.
Sixty teams will compete for the available 15 final round spots at the championship, to be held at the University of Wisconsin's Nielsen Tennis Stadium, Feb. 13-16. Wisconsin earned an automatic invitation to the final 16 since it will be the host for the 2009 championship.
"It is a great opportunity to play in this tournament," Coach Mercer continued. "This will be an excellent experience for the girls to play at Georgia against tough opponents."
The top four teams per region were offered to participate in the 2009 ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The Herd stands at No. 4 in the East Region behind William and Mary, Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia.
"It will be good for us to play at Georgia because of our history there," Coach Mercer added. "We have had success in the past and hope to again."
First round winners and losers face each other in the second rounds. The 15 teams that win its region will advance to the 2009 ITA National Team Indoor Championship final 16.
"We hope to advance to the second round with a win Sunday, and then to the tournament later this month," Coach Mercer added.
The other 14 host sites include UCLA, Florida, Duke, Clemson, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, California, Stanford, Southern Cal, William and Mary, Baylor, and Miami.
The Herd's No. 44 senior tandem of Kellie Schmitt (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Karolina Soor (Lindesburg, Sweden) remain undefeated so far this season and has a win over the No. 42 team of Carolina Escamilla and Christine Johnston from Kentucky at the No. 1 slot.
The pair of Jessica Keener (Reston, Va.) and Deanna Bailey (McDonough, Ga.) is also undefeated so far this season at the No. 2 position.
In singles play, Schmitt (33rd) at the No. 1 and Catherine Kellner (Smithtown, N.Y.) at the No. 6 are the only Herd members to remain undefeated so far this season.
Also in singles, Isabell Raich (Klaus, Austria) is 2-1 at the No. 2, Soor stands 2-1 at the No. 3 mark, Bailey is 2-1 at the No. 4, and Keener stands 2-1 at the No. 5 position.
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