Porter Advances in Qualifying Round of Regionals

TULSA -- After the first day of the qualifying round of the 2002 Omni Hotels Women's Tennis Central Region Championships, only Tara Porter remains as the only Cougar to make it through to the round of 16.

Porter defeated Maria Ruiz-Fabrega of New Mexico 6-3, 4-6, (10-6) and Barbara Kourim of the University of Denver 6-1, 6-1 to advance. BYU head coach Craig Manning said Porter is playing really well right now.

"Tara put two good matches together today," Manning said. "Hopefully she can keep it going tomorrow and get at least one more win."

Porter will face Kristen Gyaki of Iowa State on Thursday morning to determine if she will advance to the main draw. The eight girls that make it to the quarterfinals of the qualifying round will be placed in the main draw of the tournament.

"Right now we have four girls in the main draw," Manning said. "If Tara can win one more match, that would be huge for us. No other team will have five girls in the main draw."

The other two Cougars competing in the qualifying round on Wednesday were Hadley Macfarlane and Nicole Schneider. Both of them lost in the first round with Macfarlane losing to Kim Lorenz of Kansas 6-4, 6-2 and Schneider losing to Laura Miller of Southwest Missouri State 2-6, 6-2, (10-8).

The main draw portion of the championships will begin tomorrow following the final qualifying matches. BYU's Dominique Reynolds, Lu Oswald, Rebecca Pike and Elizaveta Khoudoiarova will all be competing in the main draw.

Qualifying Round
Round of 64
Tara Porter (BYU) def. Maria Ruiz-Fabrega (UNM), 6-3, 4-6, (10-6)
Kim Lorenz (Kansas) def. Hadley Macfarlane (BYU), 6-4, 6-2
Laura Miller (SMS) def. Nicole Schneider (BYU), 2-6, 6-2, (10-8)
Round of 32
Tara Porter (BYU) def. Barbara Kourim (UD), 6-1, 6-0