October 2, 2004

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The young Virginia Tech women's team had a very successful second day at the Wake Forest Invitational being played at the Leighton Stadium Courts on the campus of Wake Forest University. The Hokies, featuring five freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and one senior, will have five players participating in main draw finals on Sunday.

Anat Elazari (Jr., Tiberias, Israel), ranked No. 73 nationally, defeated Jenna Loeb (Wake Forest) 6-3, 6-0 in the quarterfinals before beating Kristin James (Virginia) 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the semis. Elazari will go for the Flight A singles title Sunday against top-seed Diana Srebrovic (Virginia). Also in Flight A, J.J. Larson (Fr., Orchard Park, N.Y.) lost to Srebrovic 6-2, 7-5 then defeated Ofra Friedman (Charlotte) to advance to Sunday's fifth-place match against Loeb.

Ashley James (So., Williamsburg, Va.) dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Meghan Fillinow (Davidson) in the Flight B quarterfinals but bounced back to defeat Alisha Talbot (Wake Forest), 4-6, 6-2, 10-5. James will battle Kate Levitt (Davidson) Sunday in the fifth-place match. Felice Lam (Sr., Seattle, Wash.) lost 6-2, 7-6 (1) to Lucille Kleyhans (Winthrop) in the consolation then defeated Simon Foltyn (Georgia State) 6-3, 6-2. Lam will face Whitney Miles (UNC Greensboro) in the 13^th-place match.

The Flight C consolation final will an all-Tech affair as Bethan James (Fr., Flintshire, UK) defeated Melisa Cansado (Tennessee Tech) 6-1, 6-3 and will play teammate Jessica Long (Fr., Elazabethtown, Pa.) on Sunday. Long defeated AnaMaria Simanca (Winthrop) 6-0, 6-1 and Jennifer Hatch (Charlotte) 6-0, 6-0 to make the finals.

Kate Harrington (Fr., Richmond, Va.) continued her solid play in Flight D advancing to the title match with a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-4, 10-8 win against Sarah Borkowski (Davidson). Harrington will face Lauren Bruch (Virginia) in the finals. Gabriela Carvalho (Fr., Rock Hill, S.C.) won the Flight D consolation with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Rebecca Jameson (Davidson).

Tech advanced both Flight A doubles teams into the championship match with impressive wins on Saturday. Lam/Larson, the top-seeds, cruised to an 8-4 win in the semifinals over Virginia's James/Srebrovic, the third seeds. Elazari/Ashley James won 8-2 over LaCoste/Suggs (UNC Greensboro). The title match is scheduled for Sunday at 8:30 a.m.

In Flight B doubles action, Carvalho/Bethan James won a tight 8-6 match over Jameson/Skeeters (Davidson) and will play Hatch/Placente (Charlotte) in the consolation finals Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Harrington/Long lost 8-6 to Borkowski/Levitt (Davidson) and will battle Wade/Zabkar (UNC Greensboro) Sunday morning in the seventh-place match.

Complete results may be obtained at www.wakeforestsports.com.