By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University will host the USTA/ITA Pacific Northwest Fall Championships in women's tennis from Saturday, Oct. 1 through Monday, Oct. 3. Matches will be played at the WU Tennis Courts on the Willamette campus, as well as at the Salem Swim and Tennis Club. In the event of rain, the action will move indoors at the Courthouse Tennis Club.

There are eight seeded players in the singles bracket. The top seed is Abby Olbrich of Linfield College and the #2 seed is Alyssa Roberg from Whitman College. Seeded #3 is Cat Goya from Pacific University, with Alli Marshall of Whitworth seeded #4 and Courtney Lawless of Whitman seeded #5.

Shannon Palmer (Sr., Salem, OR/Sprague HS) from Willamette is seeded #6, while Erica Bosman from Whitworth is seeded #7 and Sabrina Gutierrez (So., Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park HS) of Willamette is seeded #8.

The top half of the singles bracket -- featuring Olbrich, Lawless, Goya and Bosman -- is scheduled to be played at the WU Tennis Courts. The bottom half of the bracket -- including Roberg, Palmer, Marshall and Gutierrez -- will be contested at the Salem Swim and Tennis Club. Two rounds will be played if weather permits on Saturday, which will set up the Round of 16 for Sunday.

A total of 32 teams will compete in the doubles bracket. Eight of the teams are seeded, with Roberg and Lawless from Whitman holding the #1 seed. At #2 is the team of Bosman and Marshall of Whitworth, while the #3 seed is owned by Olbrich and Caroline Brigham from Linfield.

Willamette's duo of Palmer and Gutierrez is seeded #4, while Goya and Rachel Mizuno from Pacific are seeded #5. The remaining seeded teams are Lawless and Emily Rolston of Whitman at #6, Saryn Mooney and Jessi Steele of Whitworth at #7 and Molly Beaumont and Alyssa Emoto from George Fox University at #8.

Plans are for the first two rounds of doubles to be played later in the day. The doubles bracket will continue with the quarterfinals on Sunday.

The winners of the Pacific Northwest Fall Championships will advance into the USTA/ITA Small College National Championships, set for October 13-16 in Mobile, Ala.

Tournament Sites

WU Tennis Courts - Located near the Sparks Center parking lot on the north side of Bellevue Street between Winter Street and 12th Street in Salem.

Salem Swim and Tennis - Located at 4318 Lone Oak Road SE in Salem.

Courthouse Tennis Club - Located at 1379 Madison Street NE in Salem.