MALIBU, Calif. – Amanda Nowak represented Fairfield University Women's Tennis in a pair of matches against PAC 12 competition on the opening day of the Oracle ITA Masters hosted by Pepperdine University in Malibu. Nowak is the first Stag to ever compete at the national event.
 
Nowak, who received the invitation as the reigning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Player and Rookie of the Year, competed in both singles and mixed doubles on Thursday. Morning action saw the sophomore team with Monmouth's Max Benaim – the men's representative from the MAAC – to challenge a team comprised of UCLA's Jada Hart and USC's Daniel Cukierman. Nowak and Benaim fell to the PAC 12 duo, both of whom are ranked in the top 10 of their respective ITA Preseason National Rankings, by a count of 6-1.
 
Next, Nowak faced another tall order in the singles draw against the second-seeded Abbey Forbes of UCLA. Forbes, who recently won the 2019 Wimbledon Girls' Doubles Championship and competed in the main doubles draw of the 2019 US Open, took the match by a tally of 6-0, 6-0.
 
Nowak will return to the court on Friday for action in the backdraw of the Oracle ITA Masters. The bracket will be finalized when Thursday's action is complete.