ITA Main Draw begins today in Tulsa Ok

FAYETTEVILLE—The University of Arkansas women’s tennis team begins main draw competition of the ITA Central Regional Championships tomorrow in Tulsa, Ok. The tournament features 64 of the best players from 25 schools across the region. Three Arkansas players, Iliana Pacheco, Vlatka Jovanovic and Maryori Franco, compete tomorrow in the 64-player bracket. Jovanovic and Franco earned top 16 seeds in the tournament. “It’s nice to have two players seeded in the top 16, but we have plenty of work to do to accomplish our goals this week,” said Arkansas head coach Michael Hegarty. Three Lady’Backs competed in qualifying rounds on Wednesday, but failed to qualify for the main draw. Junior Melissa Cornett advanced to the round of 32 in qualifying matches in a first round win over UALR’s Rosario Negrete, 6-2, 6-2. Cornett was one win away from qualifying before being shut down by BYU’s Dolly Chang, 6-3, 6-0. Karina Ledaja fought for three sets, but could not make ends meet against Missouri’s Erika Josbena. Ledaja won the first set 6-4, but was blanked in the second set to even the score at one set apiece. The third set went to a tiebreaker, which was edged by Josbena, 10-8. Yawna Allen competed in qualifying action as well, but fell in a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Kansas State’s Tako Kvariskhelia. The loss moves Allen to 8-5 in singles this fall. Main draw action begins tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. For more information please visit www.ladybacks.com.Qualifying results for the ITA Central Regional ChampionshipsOctober 20, 2004SinglesKvariskhelia, Tako (KSU) (3) def. Allen, Yawna (Ark), 6-4, 6-3Josbena, Erika (MU) def. Ledaja, Karina (Ark) (6), 6-4, 0-6, 7-6Cornett, Melissa (Ark) def. Barry, Mary (MU), 6-3, 6-1Chang, Dolly (BYU) (2) def. Cornett, Melissa (Ark), 6-3, 6-0