Jan. 25, 1998
Verban Advances to Semifinals at Georgia Invitational in Debut
ATHENS, Ga. -- Wake Forest freshman Mariel Verban (Bloomington, IL) made an impressive debut with the Demon Deacons last weekend by advancing to the semifinals of the Georgia Invitational in her first collegiate event. Verban fell to Georgia's Marissa Catlin, the nation's second-ranked player, 6-0, 6-4, after winning four consecutive matches.
In the first round, Verban defeated Kristina Jansen of Georgia State in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0 and then proceeded to down Georgia Southern's Anita Buggins, ranked 35th in the country, by scores of 6-2 and 6-2. Verban then knocked off two players from Georgia in straight sets, Jane Reid at 7-6, 6-0, and Christa Grey at 6-0, 6-4, to advance to the semifinals before finally being eliminated from the tournament.
In other action, freshman Dorothee Kurz (Pforzheim, Germany) won three matches and advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating 60th-ranked Christina Odlock of Clemson, 6-3, 6-2. Kurz dropped a tough, three set match to Vanessa Castellano, the nation's 23rd ranked player and the tournament's No. 3 seed, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, in the semifinals.
Junior Nicola Kaiwai (Wellington, New Zealand), who is ranked 73rd in the country, defeated Nicole Jansen of Georgia State, 6-2, 6-3, and Tamarra Jenkin of Georgia Tech, 6-2, 7-6, before falling to Alabama Birmingham's Mirela Vladulescu, the nation's top ranked player, by scores of 6-1 and 7-5.
Senior Lule Aydin (Coopersburg, PA), who is ranked 96th in singles, won two matches in the tournament and leads the Demon Deacons with a 13-6 singles record.
