Kate Klein Selected as NCAA Championship Individual Qualifier

St. Louis, Mo., May 12, 2010 – Freshman Kate Klein of the No. 21 Washington University in St. Louis women’s tennis team has been selected as an individual qualifier for the 2010 NCAA Division III Championship, as announced Wednesday by the NCAA Division III women’s tennis committee.

Klein is one of 32 student-athletes selected to compete in the individual championship, scheduled for May 28-30, at the Battleground Tennis Complex in Fredericksburg, Va. The draw for the individual tournament will be announced on May 27, the final day of the 2010 team championship.

Klein is the first Washington University student-athlete to be selected as an individual NCAA qualifier since Erin Fleming in 2006, and she is just the seventh in school history to achieve the feat. Ranked as the Central Region’s No. 8 singles player in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings, Klein has posted a 22-6 overall record in singles during the 2009-10 season.

She was 12-4 in dual match competition, posting a 10-3 mark as the Bears’ No. 1 player, and she advanced to the Wilson/ITA Central Region singles tournament semifinals during the fall.

Washington University is making its third-straight appearance in the NCAA Division III team championship and the 11th in school history. The Bears earned an at-large berth into the postseason and will open tournament play against either Calvin College or Baldwin-Wallace College on Friday, May 14, in Chicago, Ill., at 10 a.m.

The University of Mary Washington will host the team championships finals, which will be held May 25-27, at the Battleground Tennis Complex in Fredericksburg, Va.