NCAA Tournament Tennis Field Set on Thursday Evening
05/02/2002 | Women's Tennis
May 2, 2002
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. --- The University of Richmond men's and women's tennis programs are NCAA Tournament bound. Both teams qualified for post-season play after winning the Atlantic 10 Championships thus earning the league's automatic berth. The NCAA announced the Tournament field this evening.
The men's team (17-9) will face eighth-seeded Pepperdine University on May 11-12. Richmond is making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and ride a six-match win streak heading into the match at the Ralphs-Staus Tennis Center on the Pepperdine campus in Malibu, Calif. Richmond head coach Steve Gerstenfeld, the A-10 Coach of the Year, grew up in nearby Santa Monica, Calif. The Waves captured their 12th straight West Coast Conference title this season and are currently ranked sixth in the nation.
The women's squad (12-9) will take on University of Pennsylvania on May 10-11 on the campus of Duke University in Durham, N.C. The Spiders are making their first trip to the Tournament since the 1998 season and third in the past six years. Head coach Mark Wesselink, also the A-10 Coach of the Year, has guided the Spiders to winning seasons in 11 of his 13 seasons at the helm. Richmond's competition, the Quakers are 14-5 on the season and fresh off their second Ivy League Championship.
Ironically, the women's tennis program owns the only national title in any sport in Richmond history. The Spiders captured the 1982 AIAW Division II National Championship compiling a 27-5 dual match record and boasting a roster of six All-Americans.