PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. --- Caroline Price completed her climb through the qualifying draw Wednesday and will join teammates Lauren McHale and Whitney Kay in the main draw of the 2012 Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships after defeating Jenny Julien of St. Mary's in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
The Duluth, Ga., sophomore won three matches in qualifying to advance to the 32-player main draw, which begins Thursday morning at the Riviera Tennis Club. Price will face Georgia State's Abigail Tere-Apisah, the No. 23-ranked player in the ITA singles poll, at 10:45 a.m. PDT Thursday.
McHale, who earned a spot in the main draw due to her No. 24 national ranking, opens the tournament against fifth-seeded and No. 8-ranked Sabrina Santamaria of USC at 12:30 p.m.
Kay, an automatic main draw qualifier through her win in the USTA/ITA Summer Circuit final, starts play with No. 14 Petra Niedermayerova of Kansas State. That match is set for 10:45 a.m.
With three main draw participants, Carolina joins Florida as the most-represented schools in the event. The Tar Heels and Gators make up six of the 32 entries, while Texas A&M, UNLV, Cal, Stanford and USC have two each.
For the latest updates, fans can follow the ITA on Twitter (@ITATennis) and search the hashtag #RivieraITA.
