Saturday, October 11, 2008

TULSA, Oka. (October 11, 2008) - After outlasting 36 of the top ITA men's tennis players in the nation, ETSU senior Enrique Olivares (Puerto Ordaz, Venezulea) fell just short of the finals, Saturday, losing to LSU's Michael Venus 7-6 (3), 6-1, at the D'Novo/ITA All-American Championships, in Tulsa, Okla.

Despite the loss, Olivares did pick up one victory on the day, defeating Virginia's Michael Shabaz. After dropping the first set tiebreaker 7-6, the ETSU great stormed back to take the final two sets 6-2, 6-3, setting up the semifinal showdown with Venus.

Even though Olivares didn't take home top honors this weekend, the No. 31^st ranked player has had an outstanding fall season. In September, the ETSU senior captain won the prestigious Southern Intercollegiate Championship, in Athens, Ga., before reaching the finals of the Ranked Plus One Invitational, two weeks ago.

Also with his strong showing in Tulsa, Olivares becomes the first ETSU tennis player since 1992 to qualify for the ITA National Indoor Championships, which will take place later this fall.