July 23, 2008

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Several members of the Illinois women's tennis team have been heating up the hard courts this summer on the ITA Summer Circuit.

Incoming freshman Amy Allin has competed in the last two summer ITA tournaments in Texas, taking the doubles crown first at Collin County Community College Tournament and the latest at the UT Arlington Tournament, both with partner Heather Steinbauer.

Allin, a Dallas, Tex., native had huge victories in the singles draw over Heather Steinbauer of Vanderbilt in the semifinals, 7-6,7-6, and No. 2-seeded Paloma Escobedo of Ohio State in the finals, 6-3, 6-2, to capture the singles title at UT-Arlington.

At the ITA Tournament held at Western Michigan, Marisa Lambropoulos and Annie McCarthy, both of whom will begin their sophomore seasons for the Orange and Blue in the fall, faced off in semifinals. McCarthy, who had advanced with a dominating win over Julie Blackmore of Ohio State in the quarterfinals, fought hard but fell to teammate Lambropoulos. Lambropoulos then dropped a three-set decision to Shannon Matthews of Notre Dame in the finals.

Lambropoulos and McCarthy teamed up in doubles and advanced to the semifinals, eventually falling to the duo of Chrissie McGaffigan and Julie Voss.

More information on the ITA Summer Circuit can be found at http://www.itatennis.com/Events/SummerCircuit.htm. Fightingillini.com is the home for the latest information on Illini women's tennis players in action this summer.