June 4, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

SKILLMAN, N.J. - The Marshall University women's tennis team earned a spot to compete in the 2009 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championships, as announced by the association, Wednesday.

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.

"This is the first ever regional opening round of sixty for the National Team Indoor Championships and we look forward to competing next February," Marshall's Head Coach John Mercer said.

The top four teams per region were offered to participate in the 2009 ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Thundering Herd stands at No. 4 in the East Region behind William and Mary, Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia.

The 15 nationally-ranked teams were chosen as host sites. Marshall will travel to Athens, Georgia as the No. 2 seed behind the Bulldogs. Florida International and Ole Miss were placed as No. 3 and 4 seeds respectively.

The Herd will face the third-seeded Florida International, Sunday, Feb. 1. The second round matches will be played Monday, Feb. 2, with times yet to be determined.

"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 wins its region will advance to the 2009 ITA National Team Indoor Championships final 16.

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.

For complete updates on the 2008 draft selection for the 2009 ITA National Indoor Championships, visit http://www.itatennis.com/Events/Draft.htm.