Athletic Report
April 25, 2001

ZIA TENNIS TEAM RECEIVES 5TH STRAIGHT NCAA NATIONAL TOURNAMENT BID
ENMU is #2 Seed at Regional in Topeka, Kansas
EDMOND, OK — The Eastern New Mexico University women’s tennis team, ranked #24 nationally, has been selected for the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the fifth consecutive year. The Zias are seeded #2 in the four-team Midwest Regional in Topeka, Kansas, scheduled for May 4-5. Match times have not been determined.

ENMU, 9-7, will open the Regional Tournament on May 4 against the host team, #3-seeded Washburn University. The other Regional semifinal pits #1 seed Ferris State University (Mich.) against #4-seeded Northern Michigan University. The semifinal winners will meet in the Regional Championship match May 5, with the winner advancing to the 16-team National Finals, May 11-14 in Pensacola, Fla.

The NCAA Division II National Tournament features 58 teams, with 16 Regionals each hosting three or four teams. There will be five South Regional sites, four Midwest Regional sites, four East Regional sites and three West Regional sites. NCAA Tournament bids were awarded today in all four geographic regions.

ENMU is led by #1 singles player Layla Turner (Jr., Casa Grande, AZ/Casa Grande Union H.S.). Turner is 17-3 in singles this season (Ranked #16 nationally). Turner and freshman Bethanie Nix (Spring, TX/Newman Smith H.S.) are 10-5 and ranked #22 in the nation in doubles.

Turner placed 4th in singles at the ITA/Rolex National Tournament this past fall. She was 6th in singles and 5th in doubles at the ITA/Rolex National Tournament as a sophomore. Turner has a career record of 67-14 (.827) in singles and owns a 56-21 (.718) career record in doubles.

Head Coach Christine Blaeser is in her 11th season at ENMU. She has guided the Zias to NCAA Regional Tournaments at Northern Colorado in 1997, at Abilene Christian in 1998, and at Central Oklahoma in 1999 and 2000. The Zias were defeated in the first round in 1998 and in the Regional Championship match in 1997 and 1999, before winning their first ever Regional title last season.