Women's Tennis To Face No. 3 Duke In NCAA First Round
04/29/2009 | Women's Tennis
April 29, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. -
The women's tennis team (17-5) will face the third-seeded Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA First Round May 8th at Duke. Match time is set for 2:00 p.m. The Spiders received the Atlantic 10 automatic bid after capturing their sixth conference championship two weeks ago in Philadelphia, Pa.
"We knew we'd have to play a top seed," said head coach Mark Wesselink. "We're playing our best tennis right now. Our team is extremely excited to play against one of the top teams in the country. We are practicing hard and will be prepared for Duke."
The Spiders dominated the A-10 Tournament, sweeping every opponent they faced. Richmond defeated Saint Louis 4-0 in the second round, shut out Charlotte 4-0 in the semifinals and rolled past 2008 A-10 Champion, Temple 4-0 in the championship. The Spiders are led by senior Pamela Duran, a three-time All-Conference selection.
Richmond returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. The Spiders fell to No. 15 William & Mary 4-0. Richmond made consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament from 2004-2007.