Wildcats to play at UK, UTA

ACU to participate in tourneys at Kentucky, Texas-Arlington

ABILENE -- The ACU men's and women's tennis teams will be back in action this weekend with the men playing in the Metroplex and the women's team heading east to play in Kentucky.

The men's team will be playing in the Texas-Arlington Inivtational on Friday and Saturday, while the women's team will join nine NCAA Division I teams in the University of Kentucky Fall Invitational in Lexington, Ky.  The Wildcats are the only NCAA Division II team in the field, which includes Kentucky, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Auburn.

Both Wildcat teams have enjoyed tremendous success in the early part of the 2003-04 schedule.  Two weeks ago, sophomore Colleen Reynolds won the women's ITA Central Regional singles championship, and last weekend in Springfield, Mo., Casper Steenkamp won the men's regional title.  The victories gave both Reynolds and Steerkamp the right to play in the ITA Small College National Championships, Oct. 16-19, in Corpus Christi.

Steenkamp, in fact, has won the singles championship in each of his first two tournaments as a Wildcat, having won the Flight 1 singles title of the ACU Wal-Mart Open back on Sept. 13.  Reynolds reached the final of that event on the women's side before losing to teammate Rachel Taylor in the women's Flight 1 championship.

Freshman Holly Lindloff of Katy won the women's Flight 2 championship at the Wal-Mart Open, and she is scheduled to be in action this weekend in Kentucky.

On the men's side, George Castens won the men's Flight 2 singles title at theWal-Mart Open, and he is scheduled to play in the UTA Invitational. ACU will get things started in Arlington at 10:30 a.m. Friday when it takes on Oral Roberts in team singles action, followed by a 12:30 p.m. match against players from Wichita State and Oklahoma.

Doubles play will get started at 4:30 p.m. against Texas-Pan American, followed by another doubles match at 6 p.m. against Oral Roberts.  Saturday will see ACU taking on Pan-American at 8:30 a.m. in singles, followed by a 12:30 p.m. match against Lamar.  ACU will then play Centenary in doubles at 6 p.m.  The Wildcats will close out the tournament Sunday at 8:30 a.m. with a doubles match against Wichita State/Oklahoma.