It’s not easy getting invited to the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association/Rolex Midwest Indoor Regional meet. And as the NIU women’s tennis invitees discovered, it’s even harder to stay.

Huskie entrants Sarah Murfey and Svetlana Nedeljkovic learned about the quality of competition immediately as evidenced by their elimination following Thursday’s first-round competition of the four-day meet.

In singles play, Murfey lost a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 three-set marathon to Indiana University’s Susie Starett.

In doubles action, Murfey and Nedeljkovic were beaten 6-4, 6-2 by the IU combination of Jody Yin and Rachel Epstein.