Sept. 28, 2005

Santa Clara, Calif. - After a successful outing at the 11th Annual Bulldog Classic last weekend, the Santa Clara women's tennis team is looking forward to competing against the best in the country at the Second Annual Cal Invitational, hosted by UC Berkeley. Head coach Damon Coupe felt that his squad competed well against good competition in Fresno, and looks forward to the type of opponents his team will face at the tournament, which runs from Friday, September 30 to Sunday, October 2.

"Cal is going to be a great opportunity for the girls that are going to be playing because they will get a chance to play against the top players in our region," said Coupe. Every game will be a dogfight. It's really going to let our players get into it and feel like it is a mid-season match, where everyone is prepared and everyone is playing tough."

Junior Kelly Leathers, who made the Sweet Sixteen at the Bulldog Classic, leads a contingent of Broncos that will look to make a dent in the singles draw up in Berkeley. In the Gold Singles Division, Leathers will match up Arizona State's Sabrina Capannolo, who is ranked No. 37 in the ITA preseason singles rankings. Joining Leathers in the Gold Division will be freshman Samantha Georgino, who will take on Lauren Jones of Brigham Young, who is ranked No. 94 in the ITA preseason singles rankings. In the Blue Singles Division, junior Erika Barnes will face off with West Coast Conference rival Kate Harden of Saint Mary's and freshman Stephanie Galainena hopes to knock out sixth-seeded Dolly Chang of Brigham Young.

In doubles action, Barnes and Georgino will team up to tackle Bojana Bousic and Stephanie Kusano of California in the Gold Doubles Division, while Leathers and Galainena will compete against Mackenzie White and Nora Quintal of New Mexico in the Blue Doubles Division.