ATHENS, Ga. In its fall season opener, junior Maria Rosenberg and sophomore Jessica Simosa led the Kansas State women's tennis team with a pair of victories at No. 1 and No. 2 singles on the first day of the 2003 Bulldog Invitational held Friday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Rosenberg, playing in the top spot for the Wildcats, defeated South Alabama's Katarina Palenikova in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1. Simosa also won a three-set decision (6-2, 3-6, 6-1) versus South Alabama's Ana Rupic at the No. 2 position.

In No. 1 doubles action, seniors Hayley McIver and Paulina Castillejos beat Palenikova and teammate Marlieke Jager, 8-6. Palenikova and Rupic currently rank 48th in preseason doubles rankings released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Last season, the Wildcats finished 32nd nationally and South Alabama 16th, with both teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

McIver and Castillejos also hung tough with the nation's preseason No. 5-ranked team of Agata Cioroch and Shadisha Robinson of host Georgia, coming up short 8-6 in an early morning doubles session.

"This is just what we needed to start off our fall season," Kansas State Head Coach Steve Bietau said. "We came to Georgia to play some tough opponents and build our confidence in being competitive with some of the nation's best. We had some great performances with our singles victories over South Alabama and overall, we had a good first day."

The Wildcats continue round-robin tournament play tomorrow beginning with doubles competition versus Georgia Southern at 9:30 a.m. (EST) followed by singles and doubles play against UGA at 1:30 p.m.

2003 Bulldog Invitational
Sept. 26-28, 2003
at Athens, Ga.

FIRST DAY RESULTS
Kansas State vs. South Alabama
SINGLES
No. 1 Maria Rosenberg (KSU) def. Katarina Palenikova (USA), 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.
No. 2 Jessica Simosa (KSU) def. Ana Rupic (USA), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
No. 3 Marlieke Jager (USA) def. Paulina Castillejos (KSU),3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
No. 4 Klara Jarova (USA) def. Hayley McIver (KSU),6-4, 6-0.
No. 5 Dominika Nemcovicova (USA) def. Judith Diaz (KSU), 6-4, 6-1.
No. 6 Andrea Kurekova (USA) def. Aveen Alkhatib (KSU), 6-1, 6-0.

DOUBLES
No. 1 McIver/Castillejos (KSU) def. Palenikova/Jager (USA), 8-6.
No. 2 Jarova/Kurekova (USA) def. Rosenberg/Simosa (KSU), 8-6.
No. 3 Rupic/Nemcovicova (USA) def. Alkhatib/Diaz (KSU), 8-0.

Kansas State vs. Georgia
DOUBLES
No. 1 (5) Agata Cioroch/Shadisha Robinson (UGA) def. McIver/Castillejos (KSU), 8-6.
No. 2 Natalie Frazier/Evgenia Subbotina (UGA) def. Rosenberg/Simosa (KSU), 9-8 (2).