College Tennis News - Three Players to Represent Buckeyes at Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championship

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State's women's tennis team kicks off its slate of fall tournaments at the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships this weekend in Los Angeles. The tournament commences at UCLA with pre-qualifying matches Saturday and Sunday. Play then moves to the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., for qualifying matches Monday-Tuesday and main-draw matches Oct. 8-11. Tournament information can be found online here.

"We are excited to have three players in the All-American Tournament," Chuck Merzbacher, Ohio State head coach, said. "This is a great opportunity for our top players to get some quality matches and see where they stand against the best in the nation."

In Doubles
Seniors Kirsten Flower and Christina Keesey, who shared Buckeye Most Valuable Player honors last year, will team up in the 32-team pre-qualifying doubles action. Flower had 18 doubles wins as a junior, while Keesey posted 15 doubles wins in 2009.

Flower and Keesey are the No. 3 seed in the pre-qualifying draw and will take on Davidson and Urbina from Texas A&M at 11 a.m. ET Saturday with second and third-round action Sunday. Four teams will advance out of the 32-team field into the qualifying round.

In Singles
Kirsten Flower, who is a returning All-Big Ten selection and was the team's co-Most Valuable Player last year, leads the Buckeyes in pre-qualifying singles and is joined by junior Paloma Escobedo, the most improved player a season ago. Flower led the Buckeyes in singles from the No. 1 spot in 2009, earning 14 wins at the top position while posting 19 wins overall. Escobedo went 13-11 a year ago, with an 11-10 record at No. 2 singles in the spring.

Flower played in the All-American championship a season ago, going 1-2. She was defeated by No. 25-ranekd Julia Cohen of Miami in the first round before downing Hawaii's Sophie Kobuch in straight sets in the second round. Baylor's Taylor Ormond knocked Flower out of the tourney.

The draw for the pre-qualifying singles is 64 players, with the eight players that post three wins advancing the qualifying draw. Out of the 64-player qualifying draw, players must win three matches to advance to the 32-player main draw.

Escobedo will open play vs. Kelsey Garland of Texas Tech at 2 p.m. ET Saturday, while Flower will go up against No. 2 seed Martina Pavalec of Wake Forest at the same time. The second round will also be held Saturday, with third-round play Sunday.

Up Next
The Buckeyes will hit the courts in Lexington, Ky., next weekend for the Kentucky Fall Invitational Oct. 9-11. Tournament information, including updated brackets, will be available at www.ukathletics.com.