Sept. 15, 2010

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--There's no place like home and home is exactly where the Lady Tiger tennis program will begin its Fall 2010 campaign. The U of M will host the String and Swing Memphis Collegiate Invitational this Friday to Sunday, Sept. 17-19 at The Racquet Club of Memphis.

The Lady Tigers will welcome eleven teams to the sanctioned Intercollegiate Tennis Association tournament. The list is composed of Ole Miss, Tulsa, Tulane, Belmont, Lipscomb, Arkansas State, Abilene Christian, UT Martin, Evansville, Austin Peay State, and Georgia State.

Draws

FALL 2010 LADY TIGERS

COACHING CHANGES

The 2010-2011 season will be head coach Lee Taylor Walker's fourth season in the driver's seat of the women's program. Walker, who played for the U of M men's tennis program from 2001-2004, added Taylor H. Taylor as an assistant coach for the 2010-2011 season. Taylor was previously a volunteer assistant for the Lady Tigers. The new volunteer assistant coach for the upcoming season is Charlie Ramsay, who played for the Tiger's men's tennis program and graduated back in May of this year.

RETURNING NETTERS Memphis returns three letter winners from the 2009-2010 season in Andrea Arques-Garcia, Courtney Collins and Kelly Gray--all of them sophomores. They will provide the leadership and only collegiate-level experience for a young team. Collins wrapped up her first year as a collegiate tennis player with a 17-9 record at the No. 2 singles slot. She was also named to the All-C-USA second team for the 2009-2010 season.

MAKING HISTORY Courtney Collins received a spot in the 2010 Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships. The sole singles nod for the Lady Tigers, she will compete in the prequalifying singles. Additionally, Collins and newcomer Stefanie Mikesz received a bid to compete in the prequalifying doubles draw. These bids mark the first time in program history Lady Tigers have been invited to compete in the fall ITA National Championships.

MISSING PIECES The Lady Tigers lost four letter winners after the 2010 spring season--Amanda Brown, Ashley Murdock, Marjorie Ondeck and Dara Toulch. Murdock, who was an All-C-USA second team honoree three times during her Memphis career, will serve as the undergraduate student assistant this season.

INCOMING CUBS The fall 2010 roster will be rounded out by freshmen newcomers Kathleen Hawkins, Stefanie Mikesz and Sarah Witkowski. This summer, Hawkins, a native of Kalamazoo, Mich., was named "Miss Tennis" by the Detroit Free Press--that honor goes to the top senior player in the state.