PIKESVILLE, Md. — LSU women’s tennis players Bruna Colosio and Lauren Haddix opened the 2000 fall season Wednesday by qualifying for the main draw of the doubles competition at the T. Rowe Price National Intercollegiate Clay Court Championships. Colosio was also named the No. 1 seed in the 64-player singles draw which begins Thursday.
“I am really pleased with the way both Bruna and Lauren came out and played tough tennis today,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “They competed well as a team, and I was actually surprised that they looked this good in their first tournament of the season.”
Colosio and Haddix are the 27th-ranked doubles team in the nation and came into Wednesday’s competition as the No. 1 seeded combination in the qualifying draw. The pair received a first-round bye and faced Tulsa’s Alex Druska and Bianca Posada in the second round of the tournament.
The Lady Tigers overwhelmed Durska/Posada, 8-0, and moved into the third round of competition where they faced Maren Haus and Aimee Smith of Wake Forest for the right to play in the main draw of the tournament.
LSU’s Colosio and Haddix were victorious over the Wake Forest combination by the score of 8-2 and will begin play in the main draw Thursday afternoon.
Colosio, the sixth-ranked singles player in the nation will enter Thursday’s main draw of the Clay Court Singles Championships as the No. 1 seed. The draw consists of 32 top players from across the nation and includes Baylor’s No. 13 Jahnavi Parekh, Wake Forest’s No. 14 Bea Bielik, Fresno State’s No. 17 Kim Niggemeyer, and Notre Dame’s No. 18 Michelle Dasso.
“It is quite an honor for Bruna to be the No. 1 seed in this event,” Minnis said. “She has worked extremely hard to get to where she is right now, but this tournament is full of a lot of talented tennis players that can give her a challenge.”
In the women’s singles qualifying tournament, LSU’s Haddix fell just short of qualifying for the main draw of the event with an 8-5 loss in the second round to Wisconsin’s April Gabler. The Lady Tiger sophomore advanced to the second round by defeating Paty Vega of East Tennessee State, 8-3.
“I’m pleased with the way Lauren handled herself today in singles,” said Minnis. “It was her first ever major tournament and I was impressed with the poise that she showed in both of her matches. She just fell short in the second one.”
The LSU women’s tennis players will continue play in the T. Rowe Price National Intercollegiate Claycourt Championships Thursday morning here at the Suburban Country Club in Pikesville, Md.
The Lady Tigers’ sixth-ranked Colosio will face Ohio State’s 33rd-ranked Kristi Dascoli in the opening round of the singles tournament. In doubles, No. 27 Colosio/Haddix are set to begin the doubles event versus the eighth-ranked Dascoli and Monica Rincon.