sUniversity of Minnesota women's tennis player Mariana Spilca (Belen, N.M.) advanced to the main draw of singles play today with a win in the qualifying draw of the 2005 ITA Midwest Region Championships in East Lansing, Mich. Spilca, a freshman, defeated Iowa's Merel Beelen, 7-5, 6-4 in the round of 16 to become one of eight qualifiers to the main draw.

Spilca joins senior captain Nischela Reddy and junior Ida Malmberg in the main draw of singles competition, which begins on Saturday.

In the main draw of doubles, the seventh-seeded duo of Malmberg and Reddy dispatched Sarah Galon and Morgan Ungerott of Cleveland State, 8-3, in the round of 64 before falling 8-0 to Indiana's Dora Vastag and Brianna Williams.

The 2005 ITA Midwest Regional Championships continues through Tuesday, Oct. 25.

Seventeen ITA Regional Championships for NCAA Division I men and women are taking place over these last two weekends of October at campuses throughout the country. The 2005 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, the nation's premier collegiate indoor tennis tournament, is the second of three national championship events for college tennis this season. The first events -- the Riviera/ITA Women's and Polo Ralph Lauren Men's All-American Championships -- were held earlier this month, and the third event is the season-ending NCAA Championships in May.

The ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships feature a 32-player singles field and 16-team doubles field for men and women, including: qualifiers from these Wilson/ ITA Regional Championships held across the country, the ITA National Small College champions, top performers from the ITA All-American Championships and at-large card selections made by the ITA National Tournament Committee. Overall, more than 7,000 players from nearly 600 schools participate annually in the ITA Regional and National Intercollegiate Championships.

2005 ITA Midwest Regional Championships
East Lansing, Mich.
Oct. 21, 2005

Singles Qualifying
Round of 16 - Mariana Spilca (MN) def. Merel Beelen (Iowa), 7-5, 6-4
* Spilca advances to singles main draw

Doubles
Round of 64 - Ida Malmberg/Nischela Reddy (7) (MN) def. Sarah Galon/Morgan Ungerott (Cleveland State), 8-3
Round of 32 - Dora Vastag/Brianna Williams (Indiana) def. Malmberg/Reddy (7) (MN), 8-0