MASON, OH, USA - July 15, 2007 - It was a tough day for the American contingent in Cincinnati on Sunday as all but two were bounced in the second round of qualifying at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open.

Of the 13 Americans who started in the qualifying draw, only Katherine Ruckert and Kristy Frilling made it into the third and final round of qualifying, with Ruckert getting a walkover from South African Natalie Grandin and Frilling beating Tiffany Kurniawan, 60 61. Grandin was still playing an ITF Circuit event out in Boston.

The qualifying draw's Top 2 seeds both moved into the final round, with No.1 Akgul Amanmuradova getting past New Zealand's Leanne Baker, 26 63 61, while No.2 Monique Adamczak cruised past South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers, 63 63.

Rounding out the last eight are Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, who ousted Stacia Fonseca, 63 63; Iryna Kuryanovich, who moved past Samantha Powers, 62 75; Anda Perianu, who bounced Melissa Torres Sandoval, 67(5) 63 63; and Georgian teen Anna Tatishvili, a 67(8) 62 31 retirement winner over ex-Top 20 star Alexandra Stevenson, who retired from the match due to a right pectoral muscle strain.

Schultz-McCarthy, who is back on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for the second year in a row after having retired from the game several years earlier, is trying to reach her third main draw of the season, having fallen first round at Indian Wells (as a wild card) and Birmingham (as a qualifier). The Dutchwoman, now 36, has impressive credentials under her belt, including ranking Top 10 in both singles and doubles.

The eight remaining players will fight for the four main draw qualifying berths on Monday, with Amanmuradova battling Kuryanovich, Adamczak battling Schultz-McCarthy, Ruckert taking on Tatishvili and Perianu playing Frilling.

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