FORT WORTH, Texas — Four LSU women’s tennis players advanced to the second round of singles play at the 2002 Omni Hotels ITA Southwest Regional Championships on Friday here at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We played extremely well today,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “I’m proud of how our players fought to the end of their matches and we were able to have three of our girls advance. I have to give Rocio, Amanda, Bonnie and Marina a lot of credit for their effort out there today.”
In the first round of singles play at the four-day regional event, LSU’s No. 9 seed Rocio Fantilli, No. 17-32 seed Amanda Mang and highly-touted freshman Marina Chiarelli each advanced to the second round of play in convincing fashion on Friday.
Mang, the Lady Tiger sophomore from New Orleans, breezed by Texas A&M’s Seva Iwinski, 6-2, 6-2, while both Chiarelli and Fantilli used three sets to dispose of their respective opponents in first-round action. Chiarelli knocked off hometown favorite, Karla Mancinas, of Texas Christian, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3, and Fantilli defeated Tulane’s Nancy Kockott, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.
The 2002 Omni Hotels ITA Southwest Regional Championships will resume at 8:30 a.m. at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center on the campus of Texas Christian University here in Fort Worth, Texas.
ITA Southwest Regional
Fort Worth, Texas
First Round Singles
(17-32) Amanda Mang (LSU) def. Seva Iwinski (Texas A&M), 6-2, 6-2
Bonnie White (LSU) def. Sandra Blajer (Houston), 6-3, 6-3
Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Karla Mancinas (TCU), 6-1, 0-6, 6-3
Montserrat Flores (ULAR) def. Lauren Seaman (LSU), 6-2, 6-2
(9) Rocio Fantilli (LSU) def. Nancy Kockott (Tulane), 3-6, 6-0, 6-2