Athletic Report
October 22, 2000

LAYLA TURNER TAKES FOURTH PLACE AT ITA/ROLEX NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
MEMPHIS, TN —Eastern New Mexico University women’s tennis player Layla Turner (Jr., Casa Grande, AZ/Casa Grande Union H.S.) finished in fourth place at the ITA/Rolex NCAA Division II National Tournament in Memphis, Tenn. Turner lost in the semifinals on Friday, Oct. 20, then fell in the third place match on Saturday, Oct. 21.

In the semifinals, Turner played #2 seed Anzela Zguna of Rollins College (Fla.). Zguna, from Liepaja, Latvia, defeated Turner, 6-0, 6-2, to advance to the championship match. Zguna then defeated top-seeded Petra Gaspar of BYU-Hawaii, 7-5, 6-4, to win the title.

Turner then met Julia Roudkovskaya of Georgia College in the third place match. Roudkovskaya, from Buffalo Grove, Ill., won the first set 6-2, but received a solid battle from Turner in the second set. Even so, Roudkovskaya won the set, 7-5, and claimed third place in the prestigious tournament.

Turner concluded the ITA/Rolex National Tournament with one win and two losses in three matches during the week. She opened the tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Anna Burakova of Dowling College (N.Y.).

The ITA/Rolex National Small College Tennis Championships featured some of the top players in NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, the NAIA and the NJCAA. Each division has singles and doubles brackets for men and women. The tournament continued through Oct. 22, ending with the Rolex “Super Bowl”, which matched the NCAA Division II national champions in singles and doubles against champions from Division III, the NAIA and the NJCAA. Antonina Grib from Brenau College of the NAIA won the overall singles title.

The ITA/Rolex NCAA Division II National Tournament featured the eight champions from ITA/Rolex regional tournaments held earlier this fall. Turner won the ITA/Rolex Midwest Regional title for the second consecutive year, defeating Daniela Ivana of Southern Colorado in the championship match, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), on Sept. 30 in Abilene, Texas.

Turner’s fourth place finish at this year’s national tournament was better than her finish in 1999. Last year, Turner placed 6th in singles at ITA/Rolex National Tournament.

In 1999, she also qualified for the National Tournament in doubles, and teamed with Julie Stiles (Sr. in 1999-00, Roswell, NM/Goddard H.S.) to take 5th place. Turner did not qualify for the National Tournament in doubles this fall, but did reach the Regional title match with partner Bethanie Nix (Fr., Birmingham, AL/Newman Smith H.S.).