URBANA, Ill. - The 2013 NCAA Individual Championship draws were released on Tuesday with competition set to begin on Wednesday at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana, Ill. Junior
Maria Belaya will open play in the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday, while her and fellow classmate
Jeltje Loomans start off in the NCAA Doubles Championship on Thursday.
Belaya will face No. 20-ranked Kyle McPhillips of UCLA in the opening round of the 64-player singles event on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET. The winner of the match advances to Thursday's second round to face the winner of No. 9-16 seed Petra Niedermayerova from Kansas State and No. 25-ranked Kristie Ahn of Stanford.
Belaya was selected as the Colonial Athletic Assocation Player of the Year and compiled a 21-12 singles mark during the year. She won both her matches in convincing fashion during the Tribe's run to the CAA title and was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the CAA Championship as a result. A two-time All-CAA first team honoree in singles, Belaya was ranked as high as No. 116 nationally this season and won a pair of matches against national top-60 competition.
McPhillips enters the NCAA Championship having won 13 straight matches, while posting an overall mark of 33-8. She owns victories over 15 nationally-ranked players and won the Pac-12 Championship singles draw on April 28. McPhillips helped the Bruins to the NCAA Semifinals, going a perfect 4-0 at the No. 2 singles position in the NCAA Tournament.
In doubles, Belaya and Loomans drew the No. 10-ranked Auburn team of Pleun Burgmans and Plamena Kurteva on Thursday in first round of the 32-team doubles draw. The start time for doubles will be released following singles play on Wednesday. Check back to TribeAthletics.com for more information. The winner will meet the victor between the No. 34-ranked Georgia State team of Masa Grgan and Abigail Tere-Apisah and the No. 3 seeded duo of Patricia Veresova and Mary Weatherholt from Nebraska in the round of 16 on Friday.
Belaya and Loomans, who are ranked No. 13 nationally, are making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Doubles Championship. The duo owns a 22-4 mark this season and over the last two campaigns, is an impressive 42-10. The Green and Gold duo won the ITA Atlantic Region Doubles Championship during the fall and was seeded No. 3 at USTA/ITA National Indoor Championship before advancing to the quarterfinals. For the second straight season, Belaya and Loomans earned First-Team All-CAA honors. The pair is 7-4 against nationally ranked competition this season and has played seven matches against duos in the 32-team NCAA Doubles Championship. Belaya and Loomans have been ranked in the national top-10 throughout the season, including as high as No. 2 on Feb. 26.
Burgmans and Kurteva own a 14-5 overall mark on the season, including a 6-4 ledger against nationally-ranked opponents. The Auburn duo went 11-5 at the No. 1 position, including wins over the No. 6 and No. 7-ranked teams in the country. Burgmans was named the SEC and ITA South Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year along with earning First-Team All-SEC honors.
The 2013 NCAA Doubles Championship is being hosted by the University of Illinois at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana, Ill. Live scoring and video for the NCAA Individual Championships will be available on the Web at FightingIllini.com. The singles round of 16 will be on Friday, May 24, while the singles and doubles quarterfinals and semifinals are slated for Saturday, May 25, and Sunday, May 26, respectively, while the national championship will be a Monday, May 27.
