Epstein and Faure Beat Ranked Doubles Tandem from Texas A&M
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Sept. 27, 2014
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – The doubles tandem of junior Maci Epstein (Winter Park, Fla.) and sophomore Marie Faure (Toulouse, France) defeated No. 39 Rutuja Bhosale and Anna Mamalat of Texas A&M to highlight pre-qualifying action for the Virginia women’s tennis team on Saturday (Sept. 27) at the 2014 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Epstein and Faure recorded an 8-6 win over the ranked Bhosale-Mamalat tandem to advance to the round of 16 against Harvard’s Monica Lin and Annika Ringblom on Sunday.
In pre-qualifying singles, No. 122 Epstein and Faure each went 1-1. Epstein beat Wisconsin’s Lauren Chypyha 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 before being eliminated by Texas Tech’s Lynn Kiro 1-6, 7-6, 7-5 in the round of 32. Faure defeated DePaul’s Patricia Fargas 6-4, 6-4 before being eliminated by Florida’s Josie Kuhlman in the round of 32.
Pre-qualifying doubles features a draw of 32. Each doubles pair must win three rounds in order to advance to the qualifying draw. A total of four doubles duos move on to qualifying from pre-qualifying play.
Qualifying singles and doubles action is scheduled for Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Junior Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) will compete in the qualifying singles draw and qualifying doubles draw with junior Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.).
The qualifying rounds are also 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. 2. Reigning NCAA singles champion Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Elbaba, who finished runner-up to Florida’s Lauren Embree at the 2012 All-American, are two of 24 players in the main draw.
Singles semifinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions will receive automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships Nov. 6-9 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 inf