Women's Tennis Set To Face William & Mary In NCAA First Round
05/09/2007 | Women's Tennis
May 9, 2007
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. 15 William & Mary in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The fourth-seeded Spiders will play the top-seeded Tribe at 3:00 p.m. at the Busch Courts in Williamsburg, Va.
After capturing their fourth-straight A-10 title and fifth championship in the last six years, the Spiders earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Championships for the fourth consecutive year. The Spiders (9-7) enter the match on a three-match win streak and have won nine of their last ten matches.
"I think we certainly finished the season playing our best tennis," stated Richmond head coach Mark Wesselink, a five-time A-10 Coach of the Year honoree. "We played them earlier in the season, but really are playing better now. The fact that we are all healthy this time and we've played them allows us the chance to upset them this time."
W&M (20-2) enters the match on a six-match win-streak, including a win over the Spiders. The Tribe, previously ranked as high as no. 9 in the nation, will be making their 16th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their 12th trip in the last 13 seasons.
This will be the fourth time this year that the Spiders have competed against Tribe players. The Spiders first faced William & Mary in September in the William & Mary Invitational. Richmond then opened the Spring season at the William and Mary Spring Kick-Off tournament, where A-10 Most Outstanding Performer Pamela Duran earned a win over #5 Megan Moulton-Levy of the Tribe. Richmond then played a dual match at William & Mary just before the A-10 Tournament, when the Tribe took a 7-0 victory, ending the Spiders six-match win streak.
The Spiders are making the program's seventh NCAA appearance after previously advancing to the NCAA Championships in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Richmond has never won a match while competing in the NCAA Championships as a team and will look to capture its first victory this year. Last year, the Spiders fell to No. 14 VCU in first round action in Richmond, Va.
With a win on Friday, the Spiders will face with winner of the region's other match, Ivy League Champion Pennsylvania (17-4) and No. 19 Wake Forest (14-7) on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The winner of the regional will advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 in Athens, Ga.
"I think the team is excited to be in the tournament and we will bring good energy and give it our best shot," said Wesselink.
Follow the Spiders through the Championships at RichmondSpiders.com.
NCAA Regional Schedule
Friday, May 11
12 p.m. - Wake Forest vs. Penn
3 p.m. - #15 William and Mary vs. Richmond
Saturday, May 12
1 p.m. - Winner of Wake Forest/Penn vs. Winner of #15 W&M/Richmond