College Tennis News - UVa Hosts USC in First Round at ITA National Indoors

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The University of Virginia and Boar's Head Sports Club will host the 2013 ITA National Women's Tennis Indoor Championships from Friday-Monday, Feb. 8-11. UVa and Boar's Head Sports Club are hosting the prestigious event for the third straight year.

Joining No. 12 Virginia in the 16-team field are No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 USC, No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Cal, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Miami (Fla.), No. 11 Texas, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Northwestern, No. 15 Baylor, No. 16 Michigan, No. 17 Nebraska and No. 21 Vanderbilt.

The Cavaliers, who are making their fifth appearance at the event, open the championship against No. 3 seed USC (5-0) on Friday, Feb. 8 at 3:30 p.m. at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at Boar's Head Sports Club.

Virginia opened its season with a 5-2 win over VCU and returns four starters from last year's team that won a school-record 20 matches and advanced to the NCAA round of 16 for the second consecutive season.

Senior co-captains Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) and Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) lead the Cavaliers into action. Virginia freshman Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) is ranked No. 4 in the ITA singles rankings, while freshman Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) and Li Xi (Kunming, China) are ranked No. 43 and No. 44, respectively. Vierra and freshman Maci Epstein (Winter Park, Fla.) are ranked No. 5 in doubles, while junior Xi and Nauta are ranked No. 10.

Dual matches are scheduled at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday with the championship match set for 11 a.m. on Monday. Each of the 16 teams is guaranteed three matches during the championship and Virginia will be given priority for all 3:30 p.m. matches as the host institution. Fans can attend the four-day championship FREE of charge.

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Live stats for the event can be found at VirginiaSports.com and fans are encouraged to visit ITATennis.com for comprehensive information about the championship.