Oct. 30, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn women's tennis sophomore Taylor Russo earned a bid to compete at the prestigious 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., Nov. 1-5.
The Deerfield Beach, Fla. product earned the bid following an outstanding showing at the ITA Southern Regional where she finished runner-up to the No. 1 seed, No. 17 Arianne Hartono of Ole Miss. Russo picked up five total wins over the event, including a win over No. 63 Ryann Foster of LSU.
"I'm very proud of and excited for Taylor," head coach Lauren Spencer said. "She had a great performance at the regional and I look for her to have similar success at nationals. This is a very well-deserved honor and will undoubtedly give her some great experience as she will face some of the best players in the country."
This marks the fifth-straight season Auburn will have a representative at nationals. Seniors Andie Dikosavljevic and Alizee Michaud competed in singles last season, while Dikosavljevic also competed in 2015. Pleun Burgmans and Emily Flickinger competed in doubles in both 2013 and 2014, while Burgmans also competed in singles in 2013.
The Oracle ITA National Fall Championships serves as the conclusion of the fall collegiate season and replaces the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. The event includes 128 of the nation's top collegiate singles players (64 men and 64 women) and 64 doubles teams (32 men and 32 women).
Russo is one 11 SEC women's players that will compete in singles. The round of 64 kicks-off the event on Nov. 1.