The University of Pennsylvania women’s tennis team is set to host the 28th annual Cissie Leary Invitational from Friday, October 3 to Sunday, October 5 at the Hamlin and Hecht Tennis Centers in Philadelphia. The event will feature teams from Maryland, Princeton, Drexel, Temple, St. Joseph’s, Cornell, and William and Mary.
Esha Velaga and Lara Stojanovski recently represented Penn at the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, North Carolina. Velaga played in the main singles draw while Stojanovski participated in the pre-qualifying singles draw.
Last weekend, the team competed at the U.D. Invite in Newark, Delaware. During this tournament, two doubles teams—Liza Tkachenko with Joleen Saw and Maya Urata with Varsha Vedula—secured victories in their matches. In singles play, Tkachenko, Saw, and Vedula each won their respective matches.
This year marks the 28th time Penn has hosted this invitational tournament. The event was established in 1997 to honor former head coach Cissie Leary. Leary led Penn women’s tennis through 16 winning seasons before her death in November 1996 after a battle with scleroderma.
Matches on Friday are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. with singles play followed by doubles at 11 a.m., then more singles matches at noon. The schedule for Saturday and Sunday will be announced later.
