WOMEN’S TENNIS CONCLUDES BUSY WEEKEND OF TOURNAMENT PLAY 10/5/2009 SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State women’s tennis team opened their fall schedule this past weekend, competing in the Cal/Nike Invitational in Berkeley and the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships in Los Angeles. In pre-qualifying singles action at the All-American Championship, sophomore Maria Meliuk fell to Brittancy Wowchuck of Northwestern in the round of 64, 6-1, 6-0. The Hornets have one more player left to compete in singles action at the tournament, as senior Katrina Zheltova will play Megan Broderick of Kentucky in the qualifying draw on Tuesday, October 6, needing three victories to reach the main draw. In doubles action of the pre-qualifying draw, the tandem of sophomore Clarisse Baca and Zheltova upset the eighth seeded duo of Monica Gorny and Elizabeth Plotkin from Duke, 8-7, in the round of 32 on Saturday. They fell in the round of 16 on Sunday to the combination of Courtney Byron and Stephanie Hammel of UC Irvine by a score of 8-5. The other Hornet combo to play in the pre-qualifying draw was the team of senior Aileen Tsan and Meliuk. who knocked off Florentina Hanisch and Lenore Lazaroiu of Wichita State, 9-7, in the round of 32. However, they two fell in the round of 16 on Sunday, dropping a decision to the sixth seeded duo of Pamela Montez and Nina Pantic of UCLA, 8-3. Two Hornets took part in the Cal/Nike Invitational on Saturday in Berkeley, Calif. In the B singles draw round of 32, junior Milica Zivanovic was defeated by Melinda Akerbrant of San Francisco, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Zivanovic was then forced to retire due to injury shortly into her consolation draw match with Fresno State’s Anna Mikhaylova. In C singles action, freshman Zalina Nazarova posted a victory in the round of eight defeated Mary Chamaki from Santa Clara, 6-4, 3-3, ret. (inj.), before falling to Julie Luzar of Long Beach State in the semifinals, 6-3, 6-2.. The duo of Nazarova and Zivanovic competed in the B doubles round of 16, falling to the second seeded tandem of Alisa Spitzer and Nienke Strijbis of Saint Mary’s, 8-5. They later withdrew from the doubles consolation draw due to injury. The Hornets will continue fall action this coming weekend, as they compete in the Saint Mary’s Invitational on Friday-Sunday, October 9-11 in Moraga. ITA ALL-AMERICAN Pre-Qualifying Singles Maria Meliuk Round of 64 - lost to Brittancy Wowchuck (Northwestern), 6-1, 6-0 Pre-Qualifying Doubles Baca/Zheltova Round of 32 - defeated (8) Gorny/Plotkin (Duke), 8-7 Round of 16 - lost to Byron/Hammel (UC Irvine), 8-5 Meliuk/Tsan Round of 32 - defeated Hanisch/Lazaroiu (Wichita State), 9-7 Round of 16 - lost to (6) Montez/Pantic (UCLA), 8-3 CAL/NIKE INVITATIONAL B Singles Milica Zivanovic Round of 32 - lost to Melinda Akerbrant (USF), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Consolation Draw - lost to Anna Mikhaylova (Fresno State), 2-0, ret. (inj.) C Singles Zalina Nazarova Quarterfinals - defeated Mary Chamaki (Santa Clara), 6-4, 3-3, ret. (inj.) Semifinals - lost to Julie Luzar (Long Beach State), 6-3, 6-2 B Doubles Nazarova/Zivanovic Round of 16 - Lost to (2) Spitzer/Strijbis (Saint Mary’s), 8-5)