Sept. 18, 2004

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.

The University of Tennessee women's tennis team had a successful first day at the St. Mary's Fall Tennis Classic on Friday, Sept. 17, as five of the six players won their singles matches, while three Lady Vol tandems snared two victories apiece to advance to the finals of their respective flights on Saturday.

Junior Sabita Maharaj (Gainesville, Fla.), ranked 39th nationally by the ITA, led off singles play, winning her first flight match over Barbara Orlay of North Carolina State 7-6, 6-1. Maharaj will face 64th-ranked Ashlee Davis of Wake Forest, who defeated Emily DeCamilla of Ohio State, in Saturday's semifinal.

Other Lady Vols who claimed singles victories on Friday and advanced to Saturday's semifinals include junior Melissa Schaub (Lexington, Ohio), sophomores Victoria Jones (Tyne & Wear, U.K.) and Blakeley Griffith (Middleburg, Va.) and freshman Bryce Marable (Darien, Ill.). In first flight doubles play, Maharaj and Ashley Robards defeated the North Carolina State tandem of Nandita Chandrasekar and Agustina Arechavaleta 8-0, in the morning session and Lara Burgarello and Alyssa Rodriguez of Purdue, 8-4, en route to a championship showdown with Karin Coetzee and Ashlee Davis of Wake Forest on Saturday morning.

Tennessee's pairing of Schaub and Marable will meet a Purdue duo, Shawna Zuccarini and Brooke Beier, in the finals of flight two after racking up two triumphs on Friday, coasting by Caitlin O'Keefe and Kristin Messmer of Ohio State, 8-1, and Hala Sufi and Stephanie Wooten of Purdue, 8-2. Also advancing to the championship in flight three for the Lady Vols were Jones and Griffith who defeated Shannon Moore and Lisa Bornt-Davis of Furman 8-6, then rallied from a 3-0 deficit to overcome the Ohio State tandem of Meredith Vincent and Emily Howard. Jones and Griffith will face Kentucky's Liis Sober and Caroline Winebrenner in Satuday's final.

Overall, Tennessee co-Head Coach Mike Patrick was pleased with his team's success.

"We're all excited about playing these matches," Patrick said. "It was a good chance for everyone to get their feet wet in real competition. I think everyone on this team had a good day."

Patrick also said the wet weather that drove much of Friday's action inside did not effect the team's performance.

"We played both indoors and outdoors in practice over the last two weeks, so it really wasn't an issue for us being indoors today. We're at home, which puts us at a distinct advantage. It would have been nice to be out side because it (playing indoors) makes for a really long day, but we're ready for tomorrow."

Saturday's action will begin with the doubles championship matches at 9 a.m. and will wrap up the semifinals of the singles flights immediately following. All matches will be held at UT Varsity Courts and Goodfriend Tennis Center.

Tennessee Results from Day One:
Singles
FLIGHT ONE:	#39 Sabita Maharaj (UT) def. Barbara Orlay (NCSU) 7-6, 6-1
FLIGHT TWO:	Victoria Jones (UT) def. Ana Marie Cibils (MTSU) 6-1, 6-3
	Bryce Marable (UT) def. Lindsey Adams (OSU) 6-3, 6-2
FLIGHT THREE:	Blakeley Griffith (UT) def. Caroline Bentley (FU) 6-4, 6-1
FLIGHT FOUR:	Melissa Schaub (UT) def. Augstina Arechavaleta (NCSU) 6-2, 6-2
FLIGHT FIVE:	Stephanie Wooten (PU) def. Daron Moore (UT) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
Doubles - Quarterfinals
FLIGHT ONE:	Maharaj/Robards (UT) def. Chandrasekar/Arechavaleta (NCSU) 8-0
FLIGHT TWO:	Schaub/Marable (UT) def. O'Keefe/Messmer (OSU) 8-1
FLIGHT THREE:	Jones/Griffith (UT) def. Moore/Bornt-Davis (FU) 8-6
Doubles - Semifinals
FLIGHT ONE:	Maharaj/Robards (UT) def. Burgarello/Rodriguez (PU) 8-4
FLIGHT TWO:	Schaub/Marable (UT) def. Sufi/Wooten (PU) 8-2
FLIGHT THREE:	Jones/Griffith (UT) def. Vincent/Howard (OSU) 8-4
The following is the schedule of matches for the Lady Vols Saturday. Singles
play will begin after all singles matches have finished.
Doubles - Championships
FLIGHT ONE:	Maharaj/Robards (UT) vs. Coetzee/Davis (WF)
FLIGHT TWO:	Schaub/Marable (UT) vs. Zuccarini/Beier (PU)
FLIGHT THREE:	Jones/Griffith (UT) vs. Sober/Winebrenner (UK)
Singles - Semifinals
FLIGHT ONE:	#39 Sabita Maharaj (UT) vs. #64 Ashlee Davis (WF) 2:00 p.m.
FLIGHT TWO:	Victoria Jones (UT) vs. Kristin Lam (NCSU) 1:30 p.m.
	Bryce Marable (UT) vs. Nandita Chandrasekar (NCSU) 1:30 p.m.
FLIGHT THREE:	Blakeley Griffith (UT) vs. Lindsay Bryan (OSU) 1:00 p.m.
FLIGHT FOUR:	Melissa Schaub (UT) vs. Marti Morris (FU) Noon
FLIGHT FIVE:	Daron Moore (UT) vs. Jacqui Williams (MTSU) 10:00 a.m.