Array, Novakova Begin Play Thursday At Small College Championships

MOBILE, Ala. - Sophomore Sona Novakova and junior Rafael Array begin action in the 2009 ITA Small College National Championships on Thursday at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala.

The event, which brings together singles and doubles players from NCAA Division II, III, NAIA and the NJCAA, will crown division-specific singles and doubles champions, then match all four winners on the men's and women's side in a bracket to crown a "Super Bowl" of Small College Tennis on Sunday.

Novakova, the defending DII singles champion, is the top seed in the women's singles bracket. She will face Anastasia Dabiza of Upper Iowa on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. in her first-round match.

Array, meanwhile, has a tall task in his first round as he faces the top seed, Philip Pakebusch of Valdosta State, on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

The semifinals of the eight-player bracket will take place on Friday, with the DII singles champions being crowned on Saturday morning. Play in the "Super Bowl" begins on Saturday and concludes on Sunday, with the winners of the "Super Bowl" earning a wild card entry into the 2009 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships on the campus of Yale University on November 5-8.

You can follow along with all of the 2009 ITA Small College National Championships on the ITA's website here.