Nov. 2, 2001

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Kansas State women's tennis team will host its first doubles tournament in two years when 12 teams invade the Little Apple for the Wildcat Doubles Invitational, Nov. 3 and 4 on the indoor courts at Cottonwood Racquet Club in Manhattan.

"We did this (invitational) two years ago, and all of the coaches felt it was a productive experience for their teams," Kansas State head coach Steve Bietau said. "I think this is something the players enjoy and it's also fun for the spectators to watch."

The tournament features 12 doubles team from Kansas State, Missouri (including the Omni Hotels ITA Regional Doubles Champions Urska Juric and Katka Sevcikova), Colorado, Oklahoma State and Iowa State in a two-day tournament.

On Saturday, the teams will be divided into four pools, with four teams in each pool. Every team in the pool will play every other in their pool. On Sunday, the teams will be seeded according to their records in pool play. Each match will be an eight-game pro set and the winner of each game is the first to score five points. The new scoring system is set up to make collegiate tennis easier to understand for fans.

This weekend's tournament is designed to help prepare each team for the National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships held Nov. 8-11 in Dallas, Texas, and for the spring season.

"This tournament plays an important role in the teams' development for this spring," Bietau said. "This is the only time we will take a whole week of practice and devote it exclusively to doubles. By far it is the only time when you just get on the court and compete in doubles repeatedly. It gives us an opportunity to correct things and go right back on the court and try to see how we do."

Senior Alena Jecminkova and freshman Andrea Cooper will be the Wildcats' No. 1 team. The duo is coming off a semifinal finish at the Omni Hotels ITA Regional Championships in Tulsa, Okla., on Oct. 28. Senior Kathy Chuda and junior Petra Sedlmajerova will play No. 2, while sophomores Hayley McIver and Paulina Castillejos will play No. 3 doubles for the Wildcats.

Play begins each day at 9 a.m. and admission is free. Cottonwood Racquet Club is located at 3615 Claflin Road in Manhattan.