LAWRENCE, Kan. - In its first of four fall tournaments, the University of Kansas tennis team will begin its season Friday at the UNM Fall Tournament at the Lobo Tennis Club in Albuquerque, N.M. Match action begins at 9 a.m. each day.

All nine Jayhawks on the 2008-09 roster will travel to the tournament to compete in both singles and doubles bracket play. The event will mark the first appearance in a Jayhawk uniform for freshmen Erin Wilbert, Ekaterina Morosova and Alessandra Dzuba.

Kansas loses three seniors from last year's squad, but returns four letterwinners to serve as a strong base for the team. Senior Edina Horvath looks to follow up last season's success without doubles partner Elizaveta Avdeeva, who graduated. The duo compiled a team-high five doubles victories last fall.

Senior Yuliana Svistun and junior Kunigunda Dorn will each look to duplicate successful fall seasons of a year ago. Svistun, an Ufa, Russia native, opened last fall by winning three singles contests at the Cissie Leary Tournament in Philadelphia, and later took home a singles championship at the Hoosier Classic. Dorn, a Sopron, Hungary native, also played well last fall, especially when paired with Svistun. The doubles tandem earned a runner-up finish in the Gold bracket at the Florida State Seminole Tournament on their way to three doubles wins.

The UNM Fall Tournament also features the University of Denver, Abilene Christian University and Northern Arizona University. The University of Denver finished its 2008 campaign ranked No. 28 in the nation, two players from ACU earned NCAA Division II first team All-America status last season and NAU played in their conference championship in April.

Visit kuathletics.com for complete results following each day of the UNM Tournament.