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For the sixth year in a row, Los Gatos residents can find a professional women's tennis tournament nestled in their own backyard. The 32-player main draw of the State Farm USTA Challenger kicked off on Monday and will continue through July 3 at the Los Gatos Swim and Racquet Club. The $50,000 event also includes a 32-player qualifying draw and a 16-player doubles main draw.
While the Challenger's top seed has ranked as high as No. 40 internationally, the tournament's top player this year is former Stanford standout and current No. 101 Lilia Osterloh. Osterloh, the 1997 NCAA singles champion, is 0-5 in WTA matches so far in 2005. Other highly ranked players include No. 104 Lindsay Lee-Waters and No. 115 Severine Beltrame.
Several other Stanford alumni will join Osterloh in the tourney, including rising sophomore Whitney Deason, who led the national champion Cardinal with a 33-4 season record in 2005. Recent graduate Lauren Barnikow will also attempt to battle her way out of the qualifying rounds.
Two former UC Berkeley players, Christina Fusaro and Sasha Podkolzina, earned places in the tournament through pre-qualifying matches held last weekend.
The singles final is set to occur at noon on July 3. Entry to the tournament is free.
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