Sooners Finish Action in Prequalifying Portion of ITA All-American Championship

NORMAN, Okla. Sooners Lee Gregg and Marek Velicka finished action in the pre-qualifying rounds of the 2004 Icy Hot/ITA Men's All-American Tennis Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. held at the Champions Tennis Club. The two started play in a field with 256 players and were defeated Sunday in a round of 32.

Junior Lee Gregg was defeated by top seeded Eric Molnar of Alabama in a three-set match. Gregg won three games before losing to Molnar, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. Teammate Marek Velicka, a sophomore and highest seeded Sooner in the prequalifying rounds, lost to SMU's Peter Oredsson in a hard fought three-set match, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

Three Sooners will participate in the qualifying portion of the tournament, which begins Monday. Junior Alexei Ivanov and senior Ondrej Fukala start singles play at 9 a.m. respectively. Ivanov went 2-1 in the season opener last weekend in Annapolis, Md., while Fukala went 1-2 at the Tulsa Invitational competing against some of the top collegiate programs in the nation. Fukala finished with an outstanding overall record of 22-8, while Ivanov finished with a respectable 12-16 mark last season.

The duo of Fukala and junior Tommy Garrison will also begin action on Monday. The pair went 6-5 last season, competing at the No. 1 position.

To follow the Sooners in the ITA All-American Championships visit www.itatennis.com or www.SoonerSports.com.

ITA All-American
Championships
Champions Tennis Club
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sunday, Oct. 3, 2004

Men's Pre-qualifying Singles Results

Eric Molnar (Alabama) def. Lee Gregg (OU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
Peter Oredsson (SMU) def. Marek Velicka (OU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.