Women's Tennis Faces VCU In NCAA First Round
05/10/2006 | Women's Tennis
May 10, 2006
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond women's tennis squad will be competing against one of the nation's top teams on Friday as it faces No. 14 Virginia Commonwealth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The fourth-seeded Spiders will play the top-seeded Rams at 10:00 a.m. at the Thalhimer Tennis Center in Richmond, Va.
After capturing their third-straight A-10 title and fourth championship in the last five years, the Spiders earned the leagues' automatic berth to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year. The Spiders are currently 14-7 on the season and have won nine of their last ten matches.
"We were happy to win the A-10 Tournament again, but this team isn't happy with just that," stated Richmond head coach Mark Wesselink. "We were playing our best tennis at the end of the season and we're happy to be here (at the NCAA's), but we're not satisfied with just being here; we want to win an NCAA match as a team."
The Spiders are making the program's sixth NCAA appearance after previously advancing to the NCAA Championships in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, and 2005. Richmond has never won a team match while competing in the tournament. Last year, the Spiders fell to No. 13 North Carolina in first round action in Chapel Hill.
VCU (27-0) is currently ranked 14th in the nation and ran through the season without a single loss. The Rams are making their seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament after capturing the CAA Title for the second time in four years.
The Rams and the Spiders played earlier this season, with the Rams topping the Spiders, 5-1, on March 28.
"We played a tough match against them the first time," stated Wesselink. "We're a fairly young team and we've been playing better and better as we go. We won't be intimidated having played several top-ranked opponents already this season. We're comfortable playing teams of their caliber and I feel that we can beat a team of that caliber."