Women's Tennis: Lesniak Wins Singles At Sooner Invitational

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From SMUMustangs.com:

Women's Tennis: Lesniak Wins Singles At Sooner Invitational

Sept. 28, 2010

NORMAN, Okla. (SMU) - No. 22 Marta Lesniak won the Singles A competition in the Sooner Fall Tennis Invitational, while sophomore Shahzoda Hatamova advanced to the finals of the Singles B bracket. The No. 47 doubles pair of Lesniak/ Heather Steinbauer won all three of their matches.

"The Sooner Invite was a great way for the team to prepare for the ITA Championship next weekend," said head coach Lauren Longbotham-Meisner. "Marta, along with all of the girls, has been training extremely hard this fall and I am very happy that she was able to win her draw. This is just another experience that will help her get prepared for the All-American."

SMU has a record five players competing in the 2010 Riviera/ITA All-American tournament this year.

Lesniak enters the fall campaign ranked No. 22, the highest individual ranking for a Mustang player since 1993, and will begin the All-American event in the qualifying round. The native of Poland has a career singles record 43-8 and also played in the All-American tournament last fall where she went 3-1 while advancing to the Elite Eight.

Fellow junior Aleksandra Malyarchikova is ranked No. 95 to begin the season and will start the All-American tournament in the pre-qualifying round. Malyarchikova carries 39-6 singles record into her fall action.

Steinbauer, a transfer from Vanderbilt, is ranked No. 117 and will also pair with Lesniak in the pre-qualifying doubles at the All-American. Steinbauer and Lesniak are ranked No. 47 in the fall rankings.

Edyta Cieplucha went 18-2 during her rookie campaign on the Hilltop, playing only in the spring. She enters the fall season ranked No. 109.

Hatamova went 27-8 in her first year as a Mustang, was Conference USA Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-Conference USA second team.

The Riviera/ITA All-American Championship begins October 2 at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The pre-qualifying rounds take place Oct. 2-3, followed by the qualifying rounds Oct. 5-6. The main draw for both singles and doubles take place Oct. 7-10.