October
17, 2008
(release courtesy of Ryan Workman, Coe College sports information
director)
MOBILE, Ala. . . . Senior Molly Fiala
(Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) and junior Andrea Schupbach
(Waterloo, Iowa/Columbus) finished in fourth place in Division
III doubles Friday at the ITA National Small College Championships.
In the opening round, the pair increased their winning streak
to six matches, as they defeated Lorne McManigle and Sabra Rogers
of Emory on Thursday. The Coe pair picked up a straight set
win, 6-2, 6-4.
In the semifinals, the pair was matched with Julia Browne and
Megan McCooey of Tufts University. The Tufts pair defeated the
top seed in the opening round, 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (5). Coe couldn't
keep its winning streak alive, as they fell 6-2, 7-5 in the
semifinals. With the loss, the Kohawks were faced with the third-place
match right after their semifinal defeat.
After picking up a 6-3 win in the opening set against Elizabeth
Lewis and Kelly Fox of Chapman University, the Coe team dropped
a 6-4 decision in the second game. They then lost the tiebreaker
at 7.
The Tufts team of Browne and McCooey went on to win the doubles
championship.
This marked the second trip to an ITA National Tournament for
Fiala, as she qualified for the singles tournament in 2006.
This event, administered by the ITA, dates back to 1986 and
determines national champions for NCAA Divisions II and III,
NAIA and Junior/Community College men’s and women’s
singles and doubles during the first two-and-a-half days of
play. Those champions then compete to become the overall national
small college champs (for all divisions) on October 18-19 in
the ITA “Super Bowl” of Small College Tennis.
Each small college division features eight singles players and
eight doubles teams who earned spots into this national event
by winning their respective Wilson/ITA Regional Championships
held over the past three weeks throughout the country. All told,
nearly 5,000 student-athletes competed in 61 regional tournaments
to earn spots in the national event.
[Championship
Site]
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