May 4, 2006

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State's 32nd-ranked doubles team of Dita Hauerlandova and Sisse Nielsen were selected as the NCAA doubles championships' second alternate to the 32-team tournament the NCAA announced Thursday afternoon. The Aztec duo becomes the first pair since 2003 to be included in the field.

Hauerlandova-Nielsen finished the season with a 19-11 overall record and 15-8 mark in dual-match action while playing at the No. 1 position. During the 2006 campaign, the pair defeated three nationally-ranked teams, including third-ranked Iva Gersic and Maja Kovacek of New Mexico, 8-3, on April 14 in Albuquerque, N.M. In the fall, the two advanced to the semifinals of the Wilson/ITA West Region Championship before falling to the eventual champion and West Coast Conference automatic bid tandem of Merve Asimgil and Sylvia Kosakowski from Pepperdine.

The last time SDSU had a doubles team included in the field was in 2003 when Indra Erichsen and Silvia Tornier were chosen as second alternates. That year, the two were granted a spot in the first round and fell in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, to Alexis Gordon and Julia Scaringe of Florida in Gainesville, Fla.

Hauerlandova and Nielsen, all-Mountain West Conference doubles honorees, will earn a spot in the championship if two teams are unable to compete. The NCAA chooses 32 teams and six alternates in case of scratches.

The doubles championship will take place after the team tournament (May 18-22) and will run from May 23-28 in Palo Alto, Calif., at Stanford University's Taube Tennis Center. Pairings will be announced later this month.