BLACKSBURG, Va., October 24, 2003 ¨C The Penn State women¡¯s tennis team saw all three of its singles competitors advance to the Round of 64 today in first day action of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Eastern Women¡¯s Regional Championships at Virginia Tech.

The five-day event, which is being held at the Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center, features 128 of the region¡¯s best singles players and 64 of the premier doubles teams. The participants were selected and seeded based on their performances throughout the early fall season. The singles finalists and doubles champion from this tournament will earn berths in the ITA National Indoor Collegiate Championships at the University of Michigan on Nov. 6-9.

Penn State junior Maaria Husain (Marion, Ohio) had the easiest route to the Round of 64 today. After receiving a 17th-32nd seeding for the tournament, she received a first round bye. She will face Maryland¡¯s Marianne Baker Saturday at 9 a.m.

Classmate Megan Marton (Phoenix, Ariz.) needed a comeback in her first round match versus Yale¡¯s Stephanie White to earn a trip to the next round. The first set of the 8 a.m. match went to a tiebreaker, but Marton was unable to capture the set. The veteran, who normally competes at No. 1 singles for the Lady Lions during the regular season, showed great poise in the second set, evening the match at one set apiece. In the final set, Marton used that momentum to take control for good with a 6-2 win. She will battle Lille Nzudie of Marshall Saturday at approximately 1:30 p.m. Nzudie is seeded 17th-32nd for the tournament.

Leigh Ann Merryman (Coto de Caza, Calif.), Penn State¡¯s lone senior, used her experience to her advantage in her first round contest against Harvard¡¯s Alli Pillinger. Like Marton, she dropped the initial set to fall behind early. She rebounded like a true veteran in the second set, winning 6-2 to knot the match at one set each. The decisive set went right to the wire, but Merryman pulled out the narrow victory, 7-5. At 10 a.m. on Saturday, she will face Temple¡¯s Ana Maslesa, who is seeded 17th-32nd in the singles draw.

In the doubles draw, the Lady Lion duo of Merryman and Husain, seeded ninth-16th for the tournament, suffered a first round loss to Adamski and Simcik of Connecticut.

For complete results of the tournament, please visit www.hokiesports.com.