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Sept. 16, 2010

WHAT: Texas opens the 2010 fall tournament season with the Duke Invitational, an event featuring 10 teams in multiple singles and doubles flights.  

WHEN:  Friday, Sept. 17 through Sunday, Sept. 19

WHERE: Cary Tennis Park – Cary, N.C.

WHO:  Texas will join teams from Duke, Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina, Northwestern, Princeton, Purdue and Wisconsin. 

PRE-TOURNAMENT COMMENTS
Texas head coach Patty Fendick-McCain
On the Duke Invitational
“This will be an extremely tough tournament, but we’re looking forward to getting the season started and getting some match play under their belts.  We will take some of our veterans – Aeriel Ellis, Krista Damico, Maggie Mello and Caroline Larsson.”

On Aeriel Ellis and Krista Damico
“Aeriel was rewarded for her tenacity this fall with her No. 15 ITA preseason singles ranking.  She is to be commended, and that ranking is a good starting point for her.  She came back to school with a positive attitude, and that’s great to see.  She has a more mature outlook after going through the rigors of her freshman year.  She is older and wiser, and that will help.

“We’re excited about Krista with her No. 44 ITA preseason singles ranking.  She got a taste of what consistently high performance was like last year, and she is ready to step up this year and do some damage.  She has worked really hard.” 

THE 2010-11 LONGHORNS:  Texas returns four regular singles starters from the 2009-10 squad that reached the finals of the Big 12 Championship and the round of 16 at the NCAA Championships.

The Horns are led by sophomore Aeriel Ellis, the 2010 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and ITA Texas Region Rookie Player of the Year.  The Californian played in all three national championship events last season – the ITA All-American Championships, ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships and the NCAA Championships – on her way to totaling a 32-14 overall singles record. 

Junior Krista Damico posted 28 singles wins during a standout sophomore campaign and registered a 15-8 mark in dual matches.  Senior Maggie Mello compiled a perfect 11-0 mark in conference play last season, and senior Caroline Larsson finished with a 15-4 record last season in dual matches. 

Seniors Amanda Craddock and Abby Liu and juniors Carlene Leyden, Julia Wiegand and Maya Zein-El-Abdin also return for the 2010-11 campaign.  They are joined by a pair of freshmen in Elizabeth Begley and Cierra Gaytan-Leach.