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WildCard Tournament

ALLENTOWN, PA, July 6, 2008 –

Bethlehem, PA’s Lindsay Gray, playing in front of a throng of supportive family and friends, put in a valiant effort, but eventually fell to Mary Gambale (Billerica, MA) 6-2, 6-0. For Gray, who began playing tennis at the Westend Racquet Club at age 8, getting the chance to return to her “home” court was a very “high honor because there’s a lot of great players here.” Today’s match represents the culmination of a whirlwind of events that led to Gray’s entry into her first Mecco Cup. She returned to the Lehigh Valley in May following the completion of her freshman year at George Mason University where she played singles for their Division-I tennis team. Less than two months later, Gray found herself on Westend’s Stadium Court. Although she lost to the no. 488-ranked Gambale, she walked away with her head held high. “It was a tough, competitive match,” Gray said afterward. “Maybe the score didn’t show it, but I felt good about the match.” Gambale moves on to play no. 8 seed Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, IL) on Monday.

Philadelphia native Julia Cohen (Miami, FL), the top-seeded player in the qualifying draw, defeated tour veteran Svetlana Krivencheva (Bulgaria) 7-5, 6-4, in a hotly contested match on Stadium Court. Cohen moves on to face Sofia Melikishvili (Georgia) in second round action.

Lancaster County, PA, native Lauren Nikolaus-Zink, a wild card entrant into qualifying, defeated Amy Dilligham (High Point, NC) in dominating fashion 6-0, 6-0. Xan Riley (Philadelphia, PA), another local wild card entrant, found less success in falling to no. 6 seed Ana-Clara Duarte (Brazil) 6-1, 6-0.

2002 and 2005 Mecco Cup finalist Lindsay Lee-Waters (Dunwoody, GA) wasted little time in dispatching rising American collegiate player Sanaz Marand (Katy, TX) 6-3, 6-2. Lee-Waters, a mother of two who reached a career high world ranking of no. 46 in 1996, looks to advance to her third straight Mecco Cup main draw. To do so, she will first have to get past Shikha Uberoi (India) in the next round of qualifying.

Honorary Chairperson Luke Jensen, 1993 French Open Doubles Champion. Jensen will be