Sept. 27, 2012
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt’s men’s and women’s tennis teams begin play at the ITA All-American this weekend in Tulsa Okla., and Pacific Palisades, Calif.
The ITA All-American runs Sept. 29 – Oct. 7 and is one of the top collegiate tournaments of the season, as all the top players from around the country will be in action.
Pre-qualifying draws will be announced Friday with first and second round action on Saturday and third round action Sunday.
Qualifying draws will be announced on Sunday with first round singles beginning Monday and action going through Wednesday.
The main draw will begin Thursday and finish Sunday, which will include singles and doubles play.
Vandy Men to Tulsa
Following a solid season-opening tournament at the Southern Intercollegiates three weeks ago, the Vanderbilt 
men’s tennis team is back in action starting this weekend in Tulsa, Okla., for the ITA All-American.
“The All-American is one of the collegiate grand slams and as such it is an opportunity for our team to compete against the best,” said Vanderbilt head coach Ian Duvenhage. “The proof of improvement is almost always a benchmark win that raises confidence and expectations. The All-American will present opportunities for our guys to get these wins.”
Play begins Saturday with three Commodores in action in the pre-qualifying play. Rhys Johnson, Michael Retta and Kris Yee will all play with hopes of advancing. Johnson will look to improve upon his first collegiate tournament three weeks ago when he went 0-2. Retta enters the ITA All-American with a 1-2 record following the Southern Intercollegiates. Yee hopes to carry over his solid start from the Southern Intercollegiates, where he went 2-1.
On Monday, qualifying action begins with Ryan Lipman and Jeff Offerdahl. Lipman is coming off a 1-1 start to his redshirt junior season after sitting out all last season due to injury. Offerdahl is the lone Commodore entering the weekend having won his last match (2-1 on the season).
Gonzales Austin will begin play on Thursday in the main draw. Austin had a great showing in Georgia as he opened the season with a 4-1 record. Austin and Lipman will also be in action in the main draw of doubles play. They are the lone doubles team for Vanderbilt.
“We have had excellent practices the past two weeks,” Duvenhage said. “We are becoming more disciplined and therefore more consistent in our execution and that is very good to see.”
Vandy Women Send Three Out West
Vanderbilt women’s tennis head coach Geoff Macdonald and three of his players begin the fall season of play Saturday at 
the Riviera ITA All-American in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
“We’ve had some really good practices the last couple days and I’m really looking forward to coaching them this weekend,” Macdonald said.
The Commodores are coming off another NCAA Tournament appearance and will look to set the tone for a great 2012-13 season this weekend. Vandy returns Second Team All-SEC honoree Lauren Mira, who led the team with a record of 28-11 last season. The lone senior on the roster this year is Megan Gornet, who is returning for her fifth season as a Commodore.
Returning sophomores Ashleigh Antal and Marie Casares will look to build off impressive freshmen campaigns in which the two registered records of 23-7 and 23-9, respectively. Joining the Commodores are four freshmen who will look to make immediate impacts. Frances Altick, Courtney Colton, Maggie Leavell and Georgina Sellyn all bring impressive resumes to Vanderbilt.
Antal, Casares and Mira are the lone Commodores competing at the ITA All-American. Vanderbilt, as a whole team, will play its first tournament Oct. 5-7 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“This is a really good opportunity for them and a good chance for them to represent Vanderbilt at a national event, so I think they are really excited,” Macdonald said.
Antal gets the action started on Saturday in pre-qualifying, while Casares and Mira begin on Monday in the qualifying stage. Antal and Casares will also compete in qualifying doubles.