MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State University women's tennis team, the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion, earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and travels to eighth-seeded Georgia Tech for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon.
Georgia Tech will host first and second round play, May 13-14, at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. Admission is free for all spectators to the regional, and play begins at 11 am (est) with Georgia Tech and Alabama State scheduled for 2 pm (est).
Alabama State (13-8) worked their way into the tournament by finishing conference play undefeated and winning both of their matches in the SWAC Championship Tournament. The Lady Hornets dropped just seven points in their 11 conference matches this season, paced by four all-conference selections including senior
Marine Cartier.
Cartier, the SWAC Tournament MVP, led the Lady Hornets this season in singles with a 14-4 overall record – including finishing 13-2 at number two singles. She was joined on the All-Conference (second team) by her doubles partner
Reka Szentes (11-8 with Cartier in doubles), and the doubles team of
Gabriela Lackova and
Mirna Curcic – both of who were selected to the SWAC All-Tournament Team.
The meeting will be the first between the two schools in their history.
The Lady Hornets won their first conference championship since 1999, and the third in school history. The meeting between Alabama State and Georgia Tech will be the first in school history.
Georgia Tech enters the NCAA Tournament with a 26-4 overall record and reached the title match of the ACC Championship for the sixth time in program history and first time since 2010. This marks the eighth time Tech has hosted first and second rounds and first since 2011. Last season, Tech reached the Sweet 16 before falling to Ohio State.
Mississippi State and Northwestern will meet in the opening match of the regional at 11 am on Saturday, May 13.
First- and second-round competition takes place May 12-13 or 13-14 and features four teams playing in a single-elimination format. The winner of each site advances to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., where the 16 teams will compete for the national championship May 19-23. The event will be hosted by the University of Georgia.
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