Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Tennis Will Host NCAA Regional
5/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 3, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern University women's tennis team was named as one of 16 hosts for a four-team NCAA Championship regional next weekend. The field for the 64-team NCAA Women's Tennis Championship was announced Thursday afternoon.
The Wildcats, who clinched an automatic berth with their Big Ten tournament title on Sunday, will host Kentucky, Virginia and Illinois-Chicago May 12-13. Matches are scheduled to be played at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center on Sheridan Road. In the event of inclement weather, matches will be moved to the Johnson Tennis Center on Ashland Avenue.
On Saturday, May 12, Kentucky and Virginia will meet at 10 a.m. to start off the day. Top-seeded Northwestern is scheduled to meet UIC at approximately 2 p.m. that day in the other semifinal (4 p.m. in case of inclement weather). The winners of Saturday's semifinal matches will meet in the regional final at noon on Sunday, May 13. The regional champion will move on to the Lincoln Tennis Center in Stone Mountain, Ga., where the team and individual national championships will be held from May 17-26.
Northwestern will be playing in its 12th NCAA Championship after finishing the season with a 22-4 record and were 10-0 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats were ranked ninth in the April 25 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. Their first-round opponent, Illinois-Chicago (15-8), enters the postseason with a 15-8 record and earned an automatic bid into the tournament by winning their fifth consecutive Midwestern Collegiate Conference championship. This is the Flames' third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky (13-10) is ranked 24th in the latest ITA poll and most recently dropped a 4-3 match to national power Vanderbilt in the SEC quarterfinal round. Virginia (15-10) is ranked 42nd in the latest ITA poll. The Cavaliers advanced to the semifinal round of the ACC Tournament before falling to Wake Forest.
