October 6, 2006

TYLER, Texas -- No. 4 seed Cayleigh Simpson of Trinity University defeated Millsaps freshman Allison Zakaras of Gulfport, Miss., 6-1, 6-1 in the round of 16 to not only advance to compete against NAIA, Div. II and JUCO champions in their respective regions but also earning all-American credentials in doing so.

The sophomore from Mobile, Ala., and the No. 15 seeded Emily Stewart developed stiffness after day one in her back and was unable to compete in day two of the championships.

Stewart had been on fire lately, coming off identical 6-0, 6-1 thrashings of Hardin Simmons' Foster and Trinity’s Calcaterra. Stewart was slated to play No. 33 Tracy Hennington of Hardin Simmons.

Because of Stewart’s injury, the duo of Zakaras/Stewart was forced to default their doubles as well. They, however, were not the only pair to withdraw as No. 1 Trinity defaulted too thus giving the Majors a good shot at the semifinals had they played the match. It was a shame, as Stewart and Katie Anderson played a hard fought match against Trinity’s Dittus/Steinmeyer last season at the SCAC Tournament.

Had the pair have won, it would have been a higher regional ranking opportunity for them and a sure chance for all-America honors.

Freshman Beth Fossen lost a four hour marathon 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in the quarterfinal round of the B Draw.

Alisa Vincent, the Tuscaloosa, Ala., native won one of the two consolation flights of the B Draw by winning two matches. She faced off with Angela Aufderfaar of Texas Lutheran in the finals, before falling in a three-set match 4-6, 6-3, 10-4.

Alisa and Beth then turned around and made the finals of the B Draw consolation. They lost in the finals to Angela Aufderfaar and Mannel Maggin of Texas Lutheran 8-4.

Only two men’s matches were played on the weekend, with Jonathan Giurintano losing in the semifinals of the B Draw consolation flight and Wes Hill dropping a 6-1, 6-1 decision to Brad Fenter of UT-Tyler in the quarterfinals of the B Draw.

“It was a great weekend for both teams with everyone getting one win on the trip,” head coach Scott Pennington said. “The entire team participated in the event who were healthy, except for our No. 4 player Chris Rolen who was sidelined with a shoulder injury but still made the trip.”