July 9, 2012

BERKELEY - Former California women's tennis All-American and 2011 NCAA Singles Champion Jana Juricova has qualified for the Bank of the West Classic professional tennis tournament, held this Monday through Sunday, July 9-15, at the Taube Family Tennis Center on the Stanford University campus.

The former Golden Bear standout, who completed her eligibility at Cal this spring, won a pair of matches to earn a spot in the main draw of the highly-prestigious event that features some of the top players from around the world. The field is headlined by top-seeded and newly-crowned 2012 Wimbledon champion, Serena Williams.

"I'm very thankful for the opportunity to compete in this amazing tournament with so many top professional tennis players," Juricova said. "I am enjoying every moment on the court. Since I currently do not have a professional ranking, competing against these players after playing four years in college is a nice way for me to see where my tennis level is compared to the professionals."

Juricova received a wildcard invitation into the qualifying rounds by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). She defeated Chan Yung-Jan (ranked #163 by WTA), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, and Alexa Glatch (ranked 154 by WTA), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, over the weekend to earn a spot in the main draw.

Juricova will next face New Zealand's Marina Erakovic (ranked #50 by WTA) in the first round of the main draw scheduled for Tuesday at a time yet to be determined.

The former Cal standout finished her senior season ranked eighth nationally in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll with a 30-7 overall singles record and a 27-6 doubles mark paired with Zsofi Susanyi and Anett Schutting. Juricova, the 2011 NCAA singles champion, advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championships this spring. She became the first student-athlete in the history of the Golden Bears' women's tennis program to earn First Team Pac-12 All-Academic honors three times. The senior owned a 3.67 grade point average as a political economy major. She was the recipient of the ITA National Senior Player of the Year award at the NCAA Championships.

The Bank of the West Classic marks Juricova's first professional tournament since completing her tennis career at Cal. The former Golden Bear will return to Berkeley this fall where she will work closely with head coach Amanda Augustus' tennis program.

Both ESPN and The Tennis Channel will provide live coverage of Juricova and all the matches in the Bank of the West Classic. Fans can also purchase tickets to the tournament by calling 866-WTA-TIXS or logging on to bankofthewestclassic.com.