Oct. 4, 2010

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis players Brynn Boren and Rosalía Alda will compete in the 2010 Riviera/ITA All-American Tournament this week, beginning with the qualifying draw on Tuesday afternoon at the Riviera Tennis Center.

Boren, a freshman, will take on Duke's Nadine Fahoum in an opening round contest. Fahoum is currently ranked No. 24 nationally after transferring to Duke this fall. Last season, playing at Old Dominion, she was named the Colonial Athletic Association's co-player of the year and posted a 37-6 singles record.

A native of Laguna Niguel, Calif., Boren currently holds a 5-1 record in singles play thus far in her inaugural season at Rocky Top. She brought home the flight 2A singles title at the SEC Fall Coaches' Classic and posted a strong showing at the Furman Fall Classic, taking third place in the top singles flight.

As usual, this year's All-American field is composed of many of the nation's top players, including defending NCAA Singles Champion Chelsey Gullickson of Georgia and current No. 1-ranked Jana Juricova of Cal. Past ITA All-American champions include current professionals Benjamin Becker (Baylor), James Blake (Harvard), Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford), Irina Falconi (Georgia Tech), Laura Granville (Stanford), John Isner (Georgia), Kevin Kim (UCLA) and Lisa Raymond (Florida).

Co-head coach Sonia Hahn-Patrick said that she expects the experience of playing among the nation's best players will be beneficial to Boren.

"I think in time, she can compete with best players in the country," Hahn-Patrick said. "She feels confident after the last two tournaments and she's seeing it as a chance to get some great experience instead of feeling pressured to win."

Alda, the nation's No. 119-ranked singles player, has earned a spot in the main singles draw which begins on Thursday. She is the 16th overall seed in the tournament.

Hahn-Patrick said she couldn't be happier to see Alda's dedication pay off.

"She has been a very consistent player in our lineup for three years and has put in a lot of hard work," Hahn-Patrick said. "For her to make it into the main draw is a great achievement and very exciting. There's no doubt that she deserves it."

This particular tournament has been good to the Lady Volunteers in recent years. Last year, Caitlin Whoriskey and Natalie Pluskota brought home the doubles championship, marking the second time in three seasons that a UT tandem captured the crown. Whoriskey also won it in 2007 with Zsófia Zubor.

Boren's match is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. PT on Tuesday. The winner will play again at 2:30 p.m. PT against either Marianne Jodoin of Fresno State or Noemie Scharle of Florida State.

A tournament home page, complete with results and updated draws is available here.

Fans are reminded to follow the Lady Vols on Twitter at www.twitter.com/UTLadyVols.