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SAN DIEGO, CA, July 14, 2005 – The 2005 Acura Classic, which will be held July 30th - August 7th at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, CA, today announced it has awarded one of its four main draw wild card entries to San Diego resident Abigail Spears.
Raised in Bonita, the 24-year-old Spears is a former Acura Classic ballperson and has been playing tennis professionally since October 2000. After winning three singles tournament’s on the ITF women’s circuit, she drew attention this year when she made it to the third round of the Australian Open, defeating Meghann Shaughnessy of the U.S. and the 20th seed Tatiana Golovin of France. She reached the finals in Quebec City last year, losing to Martina Sucha of Slovakia. A “wanna-be” surfer, Spears is currently ranked #74 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
The Acura Classic also announced that eighteen-year-old Calabasas resident Amanda Fink, currently ranked #957 on the WTA Tour, is the winner of the first of three “Opportunity Tournaments.” Her victory at the Opportunity Tournament, held at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades on June 28th, has earned her a Wild Card entry into the tournament’s qualifying round.
The 2005 Acura Classic will feature many of the world’s best-known professional women’s players, including defending San Diego Champion Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Mary Pierce, Conchita Martinez, Elena Dementieva, Kim Clijsters and many others.
The Acura Classic, a Tier I tournament with a total purse of $1.3 million, is one of the ten largest professional women’s tennis tournaments in the world, outside of the grand slam events.
Tickets packages are currently available for purchase at the Acura Classic website www.acuraclassic.com. Free parking for attendees will be available for opening weekend on Saturday, July 30th and Sunday, July 31st. Ticket packages also on sale now include: Box Seats, Gold/Silver/Bronze Packages and Weekday/Weeknight Packages.
For more information and to purchase tickets for the Acura Classic, fans can call the Tournament Box Office at 760/ 438-5683, or visit www.acuraclassic.com.
Promotion Sports, Inc., which owns the Acura Classic and promotes a variety of professional tennis events, is a private corporation headquartered in Carlsbad, California. Founded in 1982 by Raquel Giscafré and Jane Stratton, former professional tennis players, the company is dedicated to promoting sports and women’s tennis worldwide.
The Acura Classic is sponsored by American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
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