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A&M High Five
Texas A&M's Matt Sumrall and Courtney
"Kiki" Burns celebrate at the USTA
National Campus Championship in Cary,
N.C.  (Photo: Fred and Susan Mullane)
Double Trouble: Fraternal twins Kristin and Nick Shultz did some celebrating together this week and then some cheering against each other.  Nick and Kristin are the respective captains of the Northwestern and Miami University (Ohio) tennis teams and recently turned 22 this past Tuesday (April 15th). Nick’s Northwestern squad knocked off Miami of Ohio in the first-round of the Silver Bracket Friday morning by a score of 26-18. Nick, older by twenty minutes, said his mother warned him to “just take it easy when playing against each other.”

Student-Athletes:  Michigan’s Shanley Boike is just one participant at the tournament balancing the books and tennis this weekend. Boike played women’s doubles for Michigan in its 8 am match against Brigham Young University, but when she walked off the court, she didn’t get to relax like most of her teammates. The junior came into the clubhouse where a proctor administered her last exam of the scholastic year, Psychology of Trauma. Fortunately, the event wasn’t too traumatic as she bounded right back out to play in the Wolverine’s noon match.

So how did Shanley manage to do both?

“It’s definitely stressful,” she said. “I was up until 2 am studying last night then woke up at 6 for breakfast and to prepare for our 8 am match. I am tired but all the cheering is keeping me going. Thankfully, I got to play first and then study but now it’s all about playing tennis with my team.”

PSU High Five
Penn State players celebrate at the USTA
National Campus Championship in Cary,
N.C.  (Photo: Fred and Susan Mullane)
Cinderella Story: A surprise participant this week in Cary is Daytona Beach College. Daytona Beach made a surprising run to the championship match at the USTA Campus Championship - Florida to qualify for the USTA National Campus Championship.

At the section qualifier, DBC fielded just three players (two men and one woman) and played every match down 6-0 due to forfeiting women’s doubles each time.  Despite being short-handed, DBC strung together a series of upsets, including a win over Central Florida in the sectional semifinals. However, two more players have been added to the roster for this week’s championship tournament.

The Tall and the Short of it: Seniors Mike Piergalski and Tara Dailey are quiet the sight for the Miami (Ohio) mixed doubles team and not just due to their on court chemistry. Mike is one of the tallest players at the USTA National Campus Championship at 6’6” tall while Tara measures in a 4’11”.

East Coast vs. West Coast – Stay Tuned…