Nov. 6, 2003

ANN ARBOR, MI -- Old Dominion's singles participants at the 2003 ITA National Indoor Tennis Championships hosted by the University of Michigan were defeated in their respective first round matches on Thursday afternoon.

Lady Monarch senior Nataly Cahana dropped a 6-3, 7-5 decision to Gitte Ostermann of Nebraska on the women's side. On the men's side, junior Izak van der Merwe lost in three sets to Benjamin Becker of Baylor, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4).

Van der Merwe, will join fellow Monarch, senior Zoltan Csanadi (Timisoara, Romania) in the doubles competition later on this evening. Csanadi and van der Merwe, ranked third in the tournament will face Alex Slovic and Alex Vlaski of Washington in their opening round match.

Results from all of the ITA National Indoor Tennis Championships can be viewed at www.itatennis.com.

MATCH SUMMARY

Gitte Ostermann (NEB) def. Nataly Cahana (ODU): 6-3, 7-5


Benjamin Becker (BAY) def. Izak van der Merwe (ODU): 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4)