March 25, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

IRVING, Texas - Rice is now the top-ranked Conference USA Women's Tennis team, moving to No. 55 in the latest ITA rankings. Tulsa follows at No. 58, while Marshall is also ranked at No. 73.

Pavi Francis and Natalia Bubien of SMU won their fourth straight doubles match Monday by defeating the top-ranked doubles team in the country, taking down Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft of Notre Dame. Francis and Bubien are now 11-4 this season, after upsetting the No. 1 duo in the nation, 8-7 (4).

Elvira Serrot of UCF is the Women's Tennis Player of the Week. Serrot was a perfect 4-0 last week and helped the Knights to a victory over league foe UTEP.

WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK (3/25)
ELVIRA SERROT - UCF
Jr., Madrid, Spain (IES Santamarca)
Serrot was a perfect 4-0 last week to help UCF to a 6-1 win over league foe UTEP and a tough loss against Big Ten opponent Wisconsin. Serrot opened the week against UTEP by partnering with senior Jennifer Carati at No. 2 doubles for an 8-2 win against Ximena Fuentes and Marina Deluca. Serrot then topped the Miners' Megan Pritchards, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 2 singles. One day later vs. Wisconsin, Serrot teamed back up with Carati for an 8-5 triumph vs. Morgan Tuttle and Emese Kardhordo at the No. 2 spot before breezing by Kardhordo at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-2. Serrot moved her doubles record with Carati to 16-6 as they have won nine straight together, while Serrot gave up just three games in her two singles matches. The weekly honor is the second of Serrot's career, her first in 2008.

WEEKLY AWARDS
Conference USA will name a male and female tennis Athlete of the Week throughout the regular season. The weekly accolades are selected by the media relations department and announced every Tuesday throughout the season.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
J22 - Kellie Schmitt, Marshall
J29 - Kellie Schmitt, Marshall
F5 - Alexandra Kichoutkin, Tulsa
F12 - Natalia Bubien, SMU
F19 - Dominique Karas, Rice
        Alexandra Kichoutkin, Tulsa
F26 - Kseniia Tokarieva, SMU
M4 - Alexandra Kichoutkin, Tulsa
M11 - Kellie Schmitt, Marshall
M18 - Thalia Diaz-Barriga, Tulsa
M25 - Elvira Serrot, UCF

OTHER NOTABLE C-USA TENNIS PERFORMANCES
KAROLINA SOOR - Marshall
Jr., Lindesberg, Sweden
Soor went 2-2 in doubles and singles last week. Soor defeated Penn's Yulia Rivelis in singles and paired with Jeanne Schwartz to down the duo from William & Mary in doubles. Soor is 4-1 at the No. 3 singles line this spring.

LEILA SALEK - Houston
Sr., Croydon, United Kingdom
Salek registered two significant singles wins last week for the Cougars. Against No. 40 Louisville on Friday with the match tied at 3-3, Salek rallied for a three-set win to clinch the road win for US. On Saturday against South Alabama, she knocked off nationally-ranked Michaela Babicova on another three-set victory.

JULIE CHAO - Rice
So., San Diego, Calif.
Chao won two matches at No. 1 singles as the Owls closed out a 12-1 season at home with victories over Texas State and Texas-Arlington.

ITA WOMEN'S TEAM RANKINGS
	(Mar. 25)
Rank		School
55		Rice
68		Tulsa
73		Marshall
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
	(Mar. 18)
Singles		Individual
60		Kellie Schmitt, Marshall
Doubles		Team
23		Schmitt/Soor, Marshall

WEEKLY RELEASE
The Conference USA media relations staff will produce a weekly release each Tuesday throughout the season, including Athlete of the Week selections and updated standings. Complete league statistics and results will be updated daily throughout the season on the Conference website.

ON THE WEB
For the latest Conference USA tennis match recaps, scores, standings, stats and weekly notebooks please log on to the league's official website: www.ConferenceUSA.com