NCAA Tournament Preview: Women's Tennis Prepares For No. 3 Duke Blue Devils
05/07/2009 | Women's Tennis
May 7, 2009
RICHMOND, Va. -
The women's tennis team (17-5) faces the third-seeded Duke Blue Devils Friday (23-3) at 2:00 p.m. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Spiders will play the Blue Devils at the Ambler Tennis Stadium in Durham, N.C. Richmond captured its sixth conference title after sweeping Saint Louis, Charlotte and Temple at the A-10 Tournament.
Richmond enters the NCAA Tournament having won three in a row and six of its last eight matches. The Spiders are led by A-10 Most Outstanding Performer, senior Pamela Duran. Duran plays at first singles and second doubles and went undefeated during the A-10 Tournament with a 1-0 record in singles and 2-0 record in doubles play. Duran was named the A-10 Most Outstanding Performer for the second time in three years.
"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."
Wesselink earned his fifth Coach of the Year award for leading Richmond to its sixth A-10 title in the last eight seasons. Junior Erin Clark and sophomore Kelly Tidwell joined Duran on the All-Conference first team. Clark was also selected as the Student-Athlete of the Year.
Duke enters Friday's play on a 12-match win streak and is a spotless 12-0 at home this season. The two teams will be squaring off for the sixth time, with the Blue Devils owning a 5-0 advantage. It is the first time since 1991 the two teams have met.
The Spiders are making the program's eighth NCAA appearance after previously advancing to the NCAA Championships in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Richmond looks for its first victory in the NCAA Tournament Friday. In 2007, the Spiders fell to No. 15 William & Mary in the first round.
With a win Friday, the Spiders would face the winner of the winner of VCU/Virginia Saturday.
Live scoring will be available at RichmondSpiders.com.