Oct. 20, 2005

East Lansing, Mich. - Marquette sophomore women's tennis player Erin Watkins won her first match, but dropped her second in the singles portion of the ITA Regional Tennis Championships hosted by Michigan State today. With the loss, Watkins is eliminated from the singles qualifying tournament.

Watkins fended off Northwestern's Alexis Conill defeating the Wildcat in three sets, 6 -2, 4-6, 6-3, in her first match today. Later, Watkins put up a good fight, but fell to Iowa's Merel Beelen, 6-4, 7-5, to end her time in the singles competition.

"I thought the day went well for Erin," said assistant coach Valerie Vladea. "Erin started off real strong against a tough competitor from Northwestern and got the win. But as the day progressed she started to lose a bit of concentration and Beelen (Iowa) did the things we wanted to do a bit quicker. Even with the loss, overall it was a good day. Erin and Dominika look forward to playing tomorrow in doubles competition."

Watkins, finished in the singles tournament, will be back in action tomorrow in the doubles portion of the ITA Regional Championships teaming with junior Dominika Dabrowski in the main draw. The tandem will meet IPFW's Jessica Vervynct and Hanna Hager tomorrow afternoon after the singles matches are completed.

Marquette Results
Erin Watkins (MU) def. Alexis Conill (NU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Merel Beelen (Iowa) def. Erin Watkins (MU), 6-4, 7-5