For the fourth straight year, MSU earns a bid to the NCAA Team Championship.
Women’s Tennis Earns Fourth-Straight NCAA Bid; Faces William & Mary In First Round
May 01, 2018 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – For a school-record fourth year in a row, the Mississippi State women's tennis team has earned a bid to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship, the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon. The Bulldogs are headed to the University of North Carolina, and will face William & Mary in the first round on Friday at 9 a.m. CT at UNC's Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
On Friday, the first match will showcase 31st-ranked MSU (15-10) against William & Mary (17-9). Following the Bulldog-Tribe battle, second-ranked host UNC will battle Morgan State in the other first round matchup at 12 p.m. CT. The winners of the two Friday matches will then face each other in the second round match on Saturday for the right to move on to the NCAA Round of 16 in Winston-Salem, N.C., on May 17 at 2 p.m. CT.
"We feel good about the NCAA Championship," associate head coach Sachin Kirtane said. "Being in the Southeastern Conference has really prepared us for this. Including Texas, we have already play six out of the top 10 teams in the nation. William & Mary is a solid program and have always been in the top 40 so it's going to be tough, but at this stage anyone is tough. The girls have done a great job this year. A lot of people thought we were going to be underdogs with what we lost from last season, but Daryl and I both had the belief that this team could come together. Once we settled down, we saw what the team could do week after week."
Tuesday's selection marks MSU women's tennis' eighth appearance in the NCAA Championship all-time and the first time State has made four-straight appearances in program history. In its previous seven appearances, MSU has advanced to the second round five times.
State has posted 15 wins this season to date, with five of its 10 setbacks coming against current top 10 teams. MSU defeated now top-ranked and SEC Champion Vanderbilt on March 15 - the highest ranked win in both MSU men's and women's program history – amidst a program record five-consecutive SEC wins. The Bulldogs recorded six SEC wins this year, just one shy of tying the program high which was set in both 2016 and 2017.
State's first-round foe, William & Mary, earned an automatic bid after defeating James Madison in the CAA Tournament Championship. It will be the first matchup between the Bulldogs and Tribe in program history. The Tribe is led by the CAA Championship's Most Outstanding Performer Rosie Cheng at the No. 1 position with an 11-10 record.
UNC is making its 15th straight appearance in the NCAA Team Championship under head coach Brian Kalbas. UNC, the No. 2 national seed, won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship for the third-straight season, taking down Duke in the championship match. The Tar Heels' first-round foe, Morgan State, won the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference Championship to earn their bid to the 2018 NCAA Team Championship.
Schedule
Friday, May 11
Match #1 – #2 Mississippi State vs. #3 William & Mary - 9 a.m. CT
Match #2 - #1 North Carolina vs. #4 Morgan State - not before 12 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 12
Match #3 - Match #1 winner vs. Match #2 winner - 2 p.m. CT
Admission
Admission for the First and Second Rounds will be $5. Tickets can be purchased in advance online atwww.goheels.com or in person at Cone-Kenfield starting one hour prior to the match.
Additional Notes
· This is the fourth-straight season MSU has earned an NCAA Women's Tennis Championship bid
· It marks the first time in program history for MSU to have earned four consecutive NCAA appearances
· MSU earned its eighth NCAA Team Championship berth overall
· State is 5-7 in its seven previous meetings in the NCAA Team Championship, 5-2 in the opening round
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
On Friday, the first match will showcase 31st-ranked MSU (15-10) against William & Mary (17-9). Following the Bulldog-Tribe battle, second-ranked host UNC will battle Morgan State in the other first round matchup at 12 p.m. CT. The winners of the two Friday matches will then face each other in the second round match on Saturday for the right to move on to the NCAA Round of 16 in Winston-Salem, N.C., on May 17 at 2 p.m. CT.
"We feel good about the NCAA Championship," associate head coach Sachin Kirtane said. "Being in the Southeastern Conference has really prepared us for this. Including Texas, we have already play six out of the top 10 teams in the nation. William & Mary is a solid program and have always been in the top 40 so it's going to be tough, but at this stage anyone is tough. The girls have done a great job this year. A lot of people thought we were going to be underdogs with what we lost from last season, but Daryl and I both had the belief that this team could come together. Once we settled down, we saw what the team could do week after week."
Tuesday's selection marks MSU women's tennis' eighth appearance in the NCAA Championship all-time and the first time State has made four-straight appearances in program history. In its previous seven appearances, MSU has advanced to the second round five times.
State has posted 15 wins this season to date, with five of its 10 setbacks coming against current top 10 teams. MSU defeated now top-ranked and SEC Champion Vanderbilt on March 15 - the highest ranked win in both MSU men's and women's program history – amidst a program record five-consecutive SEC wins. The Bulldogs recorded six SEC wins this year, just one shy of tying the program high which was set in both 2016 and 2017.
State's first-round foe, William & Mary, earned an automatic bid after defeating James Madison in the CAA Tournament Championship. It will be the first matchup between the Bulldogs and Tribe in program history. The Tribe is led by the CAA Championship's Most Outstanding Performer Rosie Cheng at the No. 1 position with an 11-10 record.
UNC is making its 15th straight appearance in the NCAA Team Championship under head coach Brian Kalbas. UNC, the No. 2 national seed, won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship for the third-straight season, taking down Duke in the championship match. The Tar Heels' first-round foe, Morgan State, won the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference Championship to earn their bid to the 2018 NCAA Team Championship.
Schedule
Friday, May 11
Match #1 – #2 Mississippi State vs. #3 William & Mary - 9 a.m. CT
Match #2 - #1 North Carolina vs. #4 Morgan State - not before 12 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 12
Match #3 - Match #1 winner vs. Match #2 winner - 2 p.m. CT
Admission
Admission for the First and Second Rounds will be $5. Tickets can be purchased in advance online atwww.goheels.com or in person at Cone-Kenfield starting one hour prior to the match.
Additional Notes
· This is the fourth-straight season MSU has earned an NCAA Women's Tennis Championship bid
· It marks the first time in program history for MSU to have earned four consecutive NCAA appearances
· MSU earned its eighth NCAA Team Championship berth overall
· State is 5-7 in its seven previous meetings in the NCAA Team Championship, 5-2 in the opening round
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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