Pierson Advances to Qualifying Singles at ITA All-American

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Sept. 29, 2013

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – Virginia freshman Rachel Pierson (Princeton, N.J.) advanced to the qualifying singles draw with her third straight win Sunday (Sept. 29) at the 2013 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Pierson defeated Pepperdine’s Matea Cutura 6-3, 6-1 in the third round to join Virginia sophomores Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) and Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.) in the qualifying singles draw on Tuesday.

Pierson and sophomore Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and Collins and sophomore Maci Epstein (Winter Park, Fla.) will participate in the qualifying doubles draw.

The qualifying rounds are comprised of a singles draw of 64 and a doubles draw of 32. Just as with pre-qualifying, a singles player or doubles tandem must win three consecutive matches to stay alive and move into the main draw. Eight spots in the singles main draw are reserved for qualifiers, while the doubles main draw will feature four teams from qualifying.

Main draw action is set to start Thursday, Oct. 3. Elbaba, who finished runner-up to Florida’s Lauren Embree at last year’s singles event, is one of 24 players in the main draw. Senior Li Xi (Kunming, China) and Nauta will compete in the doubles main draw.

Singles semifinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions will receive automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships Nov. 7-10 in Flushing, NY.

Follow the ITA on Twitter, @ITAtennis, for updates and news from Pacific Palisades or search for the hashtag #RivieraITA to find other tweets from those tweeting the events from the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships. Fans can also visit www.ITATennis.com for more information.