Sept. 21, 2006

Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst men's tennis players Mariano Fava and Lee Michael Marnik are two of the favorites heading into the ITA Regional Tournament this weekend in Indianapolis. The pair will be one of the top doubles teams at the event and, individually, they are both seeded.

As the No. 3 seed in the doubles draw, Fava and Marnik will have targets squarely on their backs. The team will try to wind their way through five rounds of competition to qualify for the ITA National Tournament.

In singles play, Fava is seeded fifth overall. In three fall matches at No. 1 singles, he is yet to drop a set. Marnik is seeded No. 15 and will be a darkhorse candidate to battle into the late rounds of the 64 person tournament. Ronald Heurich and Kyle King will also compete at the event but are not seeded.

The first two rounds of singles play will begin at 8 a.m. Friday and doubles action is scheduled to start in the afternoon. The finals are set for Sunday with the winners advancing to the ITA National Championships October 12-15 at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla.